Veterans Day
Nov 11th, 2005 at 6:02 am by Susie
My friend is a shrink who counsels veterans. Very protective of “my guys,” devoted to them. Hates Bush, as do most people involved in this kind of work. I’m thinking of her guys this morning on Veterans Day, as we honor those who served.
And I’m thinking this morning about one of the guys we grew up with, who came back from ‘Nam with stories of pushing prisoners out of helicopters, and of my brother-in-law, whose job it was as a 17-year-old to go back to get the dead - after the Viet Cong had wired his buddies’ corpses with explosives. And of the guy across the hall who woke up screaming at night, back from one tour of Iraq and scheduled to go back for another.
Or the elderly vet I once interviewed who still dreamed every night about Normandy.
Once you’ve been there, the war never really ends. I salute our vets, and wish them all a safe trip home.
My family has had veterans in it every generation since 1776, so today is a big deal for me.
Also, on Veteran’s Day 1984, the Jack in the Box restaurant I was working at was robbed at gunpoint. No one was hurt, luckily, but the moment still lives strongly in my memory.
I asked my dad, a veteran of Anzio, if he wanted to see “Saving Private Ryan.” He smiled and said no, he’d already seen it.
God I love him so.