I consider myself very lucky...I celebrated the 234th birthday of my Marine Corps, and followed-up with Veterans Day..

Semper Fi

What do you have if you don't have a secure country? History says not much. Offhand, I can't think of ANY better reason to spend less money elsewhere than to devote it to adequate care of veterans.

You are all more than welcome. Thank you for the privilege and honor of leading your magnificent sons and daughters for over twenty years.

http://tapscottscopydesk.blogspot.com/ has a nice plug on Veteran's being backstabbed by political correctness, or, in this case, killed by it.

Thank God for our veterans and their gifts of liberty to us.

When I was in kindergarten, my dad (now he's a 37-year Nat. Guard vet) was called up for active duty in Europe. It was the Berlin Air Crisis, and at school every week, we had "Civil Defense Drills," where we hd under our desks to shield us from "the bomb."

His job was protected, and when he came home, he went to work the next day. Like nothing changed.

Looking back, the drills were kinda silly, as if a desk would protect me from nuclear fallout. But that was the national psyche. We were taught to look for buildings with the yellow/black triangle symbol signs, which meant the facility was a bomb shelter or similar.

He was gone 16 months. When I see the newsfilm today of service personnel coming or going, and families' emotions, it brings it all back home.

Obviously, today, we should set aside all our political and philosophical differences. Men and women who serve do so unselfishly.

Let's vow to protect their pay, benefits and honor in our society. We haven't been good about that commitment over the last several years. I still can't figure out why.