Dan Gallagher - November 15, 2005
Veterans Day 2005
VETERAN’S VIEWPOINT
Dan Gallagher
Tuesday November 15, 2005
This is Dan Gallagher with Veteran’s Viewpoint.
Veterans Day 2005 has come--and gone. Last Friday, November 11th, this community and most communities throughout the country conducted some form of Veterans Day commemoration.
At the Veterans Day 2005 Post #101 ceremony in Missoula, special attention was given to the families who await the joyful return from--or the dreaded news about--their loved ones who are facing wartime combat. The theme of the ceremony was “They Also Serve who Stand and Wait.” It was a touching ceremony, filled with emotion, with the families of two recent Iraq War fatalities from Missoula, Josh Hyland and Andrew Bedard, taking part.
As the ceremony organizer, my special thanks to all who participated; from the Bedards and Hylands to the speakers, the color guard and drill team, as well as those who placed pictures, yearbooks, and even the cuddly teddy bear on the ceremony’s shrine. The music and the singing were incredible. It was a proper, emotional, and dignified ceremony.
Unfortunately, not every Veterans Day event last week had such propriety or dignity.
I am speaking specifically of the Veterans Day speech given by President George Bush at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania.
Rather than dwelling on the courage and service and sacrifice of veterans of all wars, and of our servicemen and servicewomen now in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president used this special day to deliver a stridently political speech justifying and defending his war policy that has us bogged down in a frustrating war in the sands of the Middle East.
But most bothersome of all was the president’s blatant assault on Americans who are questioning the correctness of this war and of the fluid reasoning given by the administration for starting it, and linking the questioners to the loss of respect for--and the enthusiasm of--our soldiers fighting the Iraqi opposition. Bush said, in a really ugly and cheap set of remarks that attempted to link support for his war policy to true patriotism, that “our troops deserve to know that our elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them”, and that “our nation is united”,. and that “this support will remain strong when the going gets tough.”
The president’s speech lacked dignity and class. This was hardly a Veterans Day speech; hardly words of honor for all who have served; hardly a show of sensitivity to the soldiers’ families from the man who sent their loved ones to war.
Too often, those who speak rhetorically of support for our troops or our veterans, and who often dealt in mere symbolism, seem little more than clanging cymbals or noisy gongs or the wind that whistles through the trees.
Of course, words and symbols can demonstrate support, but to be worthwhile, support must be real.
There are many simple practical ways to support our soldiers and veterans. I have often spoken of the need for every citizen to constantly lobby our elected officials for quality VA health care, and an adjudicatory process that puts the veteran first, and that remains true.
1/2
But here is a sort of partial laundry list of practical forms of support that we could give to our soldiers and veterans, and their families, and a longer list is limited only by your imagination.
First, welcome the veteran home. That doesn’t mean merely greet him or her at the airport; do something for him and his family when he gets back home. For example, providing prepared meals, a tray of fried chicken, or a donated coupon to eat out at a local restaurant would likely please any returning veteran and his family.
Babysit the returnee’s children, offer to keep them overnight perhaps. A returning soldier wants to see his kids, but he also wants to get re-acquainted with his wife (or with her husband). Get real, find a way to help give them some private time for the intimacy they’ve been longing to share.
Visit the returnee weeks after their return, when the euphoria of the homecoming has faded into history.
Offer them practical help: Join in repairing their family car or in fixing that toilet leak. Give them or their family members a ride to the grocery store or the shopping center or to church.
And while their soldier is off to war, ask the spouse or family what they might need, one possible example would be to help them with putting on storm windows before winter hits.
I challenge everyone, including veterans organizations to offer meaningful support to our troops in ways that are real, not merely rhetorical.
After our Veterans Day ceremony, Senator Melcher told me of a man (who was insulating the senator’s house) who has made an incredibly generous offer. The owner of Advanced Building Systems of Missoula, Michael Mosley, is offering to provide home insulation work AT COST for the family of any war zone soldier, or any veteran’s family also. In other words, he will insulate the home for the cost of the
materials--no labor costs will be charged. Mike can be reached at 258-6205, or call me at 549-4101.
Mr. Mosley, and many other or our citizens, are showing what it really means to support our
troops--each of you can do something similar. If we want to genuinely say ‘thank you’ to our soldiers and veterans for what they have done in our name, this is the type of path to follow.
Put your labor and your shoe leather where your heart is. The reward will be as much yours as it will be the soldiers, veterans, and their families.
This is Dan Gallagher with Veteran’s Viewpoint.
|
|
