Veterans

From the march with Braddock in western Pennsylvania; in the fight at Point Pleasant; to places such as Fort Mifflin, Saratoga, Monmouth, Ninety-Six, and Yorktown…

From the “Quasi-War”, to various defensive posts in 1812…

From Manassas  to nearly every fight in the east, and many in the west, through until Appomattox and the Bennett Place…

From the Spanish-American War to the coasts of Ireland in 1917 and 1918, and along the Western Front, in places where the names are mostly forgotten…

From the “YangPat” to many a campaign and fight in both the Atlantic and Pacific, and on land in western Europe and Northern Africa…

From Korea to the Cuban Missile Crisis… into Vietnam at Da Nang, Chu Lai… and the bush… and many a hill with only a number…

From operations in the Mediterranean to engagements in Afghanistan…

… and then there are all of those operations and campaigns that we don’t know about, and remain unnamed.

My people have been there.

Some I can no longer thank… but for those who remain… my hat is off, every year, every month, every day, every hour, every minute…

I have the great honor of being counted among the brotherhood… having had a chance to honor their service and their sacrifices with my own, but mine only pales in comparison to what many did in the list above… and most most certainly, all of them collectively.

Many witnessed and endured what we can only imagine… and many things we don’t wish to imagine.

In the end… just say “thank you”, and know that these people… and many of your own… and even those who aren’t your own… gave much, and continue to do so.

Thank you.

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Posted in: Ancestral tidbits