Sgt Zach 2nd Horseman of the Apocolypse's blog: "Veterans Day- Who is the Veteran"

This is the one day of the year that is in honor of all American Military Veterans, from all times.
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> Who are the veterans ? They are the elderly man tending a flower garden, once the commanding officer of a ship in the north Atlantic tending to U-boat attacks. They are the middle aged insurance actuary, once a Marine medic in Vietnam. They are the "Aw shucks country boy", a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart for flying helicopter evacuation missions in the 60s. They are the many others who may never have left our country, who served in the less glamorous jobs, but nonetheless served our country. They are in their teens, they are in their 90s, some are men and some are women.
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> How do you know who they are ? Don't look for John Wayne or Mel Gibson. Don't look for them in a car with some silly bumper sticker such as "fear this" or "hard core". Look at the man or woman working next to you. While they are far from the ordinary person, they often appear as such.
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> What did they do ? They all gave up a significant portion of their lives in the prime of their youth, left their families for a poor paying job (in the 60s a month of combat pay was less than any of us make at Ford in one day). For the most part it was a matter of chance if they got a good safe clean assignment or an assignment that became a physical and mental nightmare. They served in peacetime, in the popular wars, in the unpopular wars, in the famous battles, in the terror of countless unknown day to day patrols, in the secret little cold war actions that you will never know about. They did their duty with honor, came home, and returned to their education, jobs, and families.
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> What do they want ? Nothing. They didn't do what they did for something that anyone could "give" them and want nothing for themselves now.
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> What should we do for them ? A simple "Thank you" would be nice. If you feel like doing something more, go down to the Veterans Home on 367 just South of I-270 and visit with them.
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> Why should we want to do this ? Years ago there was a small group of Americans who the tide had turned against. They could not disengage the enemy and were slowly being destroyed. All helicopters sent to their aid had been lost in the landing zone. Ordering people out to aid them was suspended and volunteers were asked for. WO David Ellingsworth volunteered and took an unarmed helicopter to pick up the wounded. In an interview later he was asked why he did this. His answer was > a simple more or less "Because they needed me and I would want someone to come for me if It was me down there". He didn't do it for himself, he didn't do it "for something" - money or fame, he did it for people he didn't even know, would never see again - he did it for us, the people of America. He came for you, me, your brothers, your fathers, your sons, your husbands. He is a typical veteran who did what had to be done with no thought of what he was going to get from it or what !
might happen to him. Today he blends into society, walking past us every day without recognition, a hero only to those of us who know him. The least we could do is say "thank you" once a year to the David's and all the others who ever wore our uniform for all they have done for us when we needed them.