| Nov 10, 2006 @ 10:49 PM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage
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emperorguy
Posts: 393
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What Is A Veteran
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service:
a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding
a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg -
or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's
ally forged in the refinery of adversity.
Except in parades, however, the men and women who
have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.
You can't tell a vet just by looking. What is a vet?
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi
Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored
personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks,
whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a
hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of
exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility
and went to sleep sobbing every night for
two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another -
or didn't come back AT ALL.
He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat -
but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account
rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to
watch each other's backs.
He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons
and medals with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the
ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns,
whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever
preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor
dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield
or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket -
palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a
Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were
still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being -
a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in
the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions
so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness,
and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on
behalf of the finest, the greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country,
just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need,
and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could
have been awarded or were awarded. Two little words that mean a lot,
"THANK YOU."
author- Father Denis Edward O'Brien
USMC
This page is dedicated to all veterans
past, present and future.
This Veteran's day, please don't forget
the Veteran's. The Men and Women who fought so
bravely and lost their lives during WW1, WW2,
Korea, Viet Nam, Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq and peacekeeping.
Let us never forget our MIA's and POW's
Please remember to keep all Veteran's and their
families in your thoughts..
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| Nov 11, 2006 @ 10:39 PM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage |
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apollo1232006
Posts: 2
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Thank you for posting that.
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| Nov 12, 2006 @ 3:03 PM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage
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zendivamom
Posts: 212
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Hey...why is there only one "She" and it's next to "She or He was a Nurse?"
My MOMMA wore combat boots...and SHE was/is not as a nurse.
My point is...Veteran's Day has no gender. I still like the poem, however...just thought I'd be true to my feminist nature for a minute. Thanks for the opportunity. 
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| Nov 13, 2006 @ 12:42 PM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage |
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emperorguy
Posts: 393
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Because this was written a loooooong time ago.
over 50 female US Mil KIA in Iraq.
My dad was USAF PJ
My mom served US Army, and then when on to retire from the VA
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| Jan 7, 2007 @ 4:31 AM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage
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fielddoc00
Posts: 2
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Hey EmperorGuy!
I'm new to the site and just read your post and wanted to tell you Thank you. From one Vet to another. He's and she's aside. I served as a FMF Corpsman for 13 years and recently was discharged, but wanted to say "thank you" and belated Happy Holidays!
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| Jan 8, 2007 @ 12:43 AM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage |
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emperorguy
Posts: 393
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OOHRAH-- started out as a Doc with the 3/3, then went to play with 1st Eng Batt, SEABEEE MCB 13, CHB6, et al-- ret as CWO2 from IBU 24
Welcome aboard, knock 3 times & enter!
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| Jan 13, 2007 @ 1:00 AM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage
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JohnnyPopper
Posts: 131
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Just saw this thread.. Thanks 4 goin and comin back emperorguy and welcome home 2 my brothers and sisters.. '63-'66 Marine SS Div.. 27 confirmed.. 3 purple hearts, silver star, PTSD, and all that crap.. Never forget our POW/MIA's....... Semper Fi
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| Jan 14, 2007 @ 1:51 PM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage |
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emperorguy
Posts: 393
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Semper Fi, Devil Dog, welcome home
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| Feb 13, 2007 @ 7:54 PM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage
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NYCEMS24
Posts: 2
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Great!!! Nothing to add to it, its all there. Thank You.
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| Mar 1, 2007 @ 10:54 PM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage |
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Kentuck
Posts: 6
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A real veteran is a man that has seen horror that is forbidden to speak of. He has killed, he has seen death, he has been shot at, he has been harmed in ways that would kill or drive most people crazy. He is a man that has lock these memories away.
So, dont't shoot him down like a wild animal when he has flash backs, when he grows old and cannot keep those memories locked up. He is a NATIONAL TREASURE. For he has given all and his watch is over. Protect and honor him--He answered the call of his country and did nor waver--he did his duty
so, whar have you done??
The answer--He is a NATIONAL TREASURE
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| Mar 2, 2007 @ 6:19 PM |
What is a Veteran?-- Fr. Denis O'Brien's homage
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emperorguy
Posts: 393
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Too true, brother, too true.
Welcome home. 
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