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So, as we all enjoy this holiday weekend, I want to remind you of something.
I have friends buried in National Cemeteries. I have friends whose parents have a folded flag next to the last picture they have of their child. I have friends who served this nation and died for it.
This isn't about me, or veterans or those currently serving. This is about those of my brothers and sisters who gave the last true measure of devotion in the service of this nation and the ideals upon which it was founded.
This weekend is about those in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the thousands whose only tomb was a hastily dug hole that was never reported to Graves Registration. It's about the 22 former servicemembers a day who give in to the horrors of war and kill themselves every single day. It's about every hero who died covered in glory and every kid who died because he was just doing his job and got caught in the wrong place at the wrong moment.
Every veteran has a friend whose name never made it onto a wall, who never got a parade, and maybe was buried with sandbags replacing the weight of a body. It's the reality of the job.
So enjoy the weekend, but please remember those who died to bring it to you.
I'm a bit drunk, I'll admit it. So I'm going to get maudlin for a moment. SGT Gordon Greene, US Army, 1966-1991. Listen up Honkie, when I finally join you I expect fucking good beer on ice and you are picking up the damn tab. For once in your fucking life.
Fuck. I miss you, man.
I have friends buried in National Cemeteries. I have friends whose parents have a folded flag next to the last picture they have of their child. I have friends who served this nation and died for it.
This isn't about me, or veterans or those currently serving. This is about those of my brothers and sisters who gave the last true measure of devotion in the service of this nation and the ideals upon which it was founded.
This weekend is about those in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the thousands whose only tomb was a hastily dug hole that was never reported to Graves Registration. It's about the 22 former servicemembers a day who give in to the horrors of war and kill themselves every single day. It's about every hero who died covered in glory and every kid who died because he was just doing his job and got caught in the wrong place at the wrong moment.
Every veteran has a friend whose name never made it onto a wall, who never got a parade, and maybe was buried with sandbags replacing the weight of a body. It's the reality of the job.
So enjoy the weekend, but please remember those who died to bring it to you.
I'm a bit drunk, I'll admit it. So I'm going to get maudlin for a moment. SGT Gordon Greene, US Army, 1966-1991. Listen up Honkie, when I finally join you I expect fucking good beer on ice and you are picking up the damn tab. For once in your fucking life.
Fuck. I miss you, man.