We have to be reminded each year that another milestone away from the precincts of World War II has been reached. The further we recede from that event the fewer living veterans are left. We go through the motions of praising those who gave their last full measure of devotion to some cause or another. In most countries it is marking an event that brought about the downfall of one regime and the rise of another. In the United States we have lumped together all the wars and their fighters and devote one day to give lip-service to the service given their country by those who survived. For all those who lived and died for any reason, we have no day of remembrance for them. Veterans have a special place in the hearts of those in whose families they played a role. Some get together regularly and relive the glory of war, passion and beliefs that no longer have any meaning. Some live in Veterans Hospitals so their damage cannot be seen by the rest of us saving us the harm that comes with knowing that someone else fought the battles that brought us to this point. I would hope that we all know that such battles were fought, won and then were institutionalized into one day of remembrance, a few parades and many words that fall on ears attuned to messages from outer space called I-Pods or You Tubes.
I don’t make much about being a veteran. I got into the war as a “replacement” for earlier arrivals who were killed in crossing the English Channel (the 66th Infantry which was decimated on that crossing). My Division was kept behind while the Americans and British were pushing eastward towards Germany. My life was again saved by that posting since we were just assigned as guards of the German Submarine Pens in St. Nazaire and St. Laurent. Those Germans sat out the war as did we and it was soon over. That I had shown my devotion to the U.S. and democracy by enlisting in the Army before I was drafted is irrelevant. I joined to fight an enemy and forces larger than any known before that time. It was decided I was needed to protect the French who were occupied in that area by German soldiers. These Germans, much like other Europeans, were part of the plan to impose a master race on the others in Europe or the rest of the world if they avoided being contained by Allied forces. That could have happened but for volunteers and drafted men to go and obey the orders demanded of them.
We practice “Veteranism” in this country with one day designated each year for dwindling number of MY generation who served sixty and more years ago. We do not practice humanism by giving generously to the hospitals and services required by military personnel who are dehumanized by war. We need to do more than commercialize the day with special sales and more time to watch TV or go to the movies. Clutch the Veterans of today’s wars to your hearts for they obey their officers and off they go into harms’ way.