We, The Veterans

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I Lord. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

Veterans Day is about remembrance. A day to ponder the service and sacrifice of the men and women who said, “send me!” To honor those who set aside their own civil liberty, comfort, security, and for many, their lives…to unselfishly heed a higher calling. But who are these veterans?

Our veterans are visible and invisible. Known and unknown. Each Veterans Day we see them marching in small hometown parades across the heartland. Serving in ceremonial honor guards on hallowed ground: Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Normandy. We watch them doing what they do in real time on the news. Kids with lethal weapons, growing up too fast.

But let us not forget our “invisible” brothers and sisters. A broken man lying on the side of the road, wrapped in a garbage bag poncho, holding a tiny American flag. Or the Navy nurse who saved the lives of sailors at Pearl Harbor. She lives in a nursing home now; her crisp uniform still hangs in her closet. And the tens of thousands who lay sleeping beneath the ground, or at the bottom of the sea. And the great invisible host of those who bear physical and mental scars. You don’t see them. But you brush shoulders them nearly every day. They shop at Costco, repair your car, deliver the mail, and keep our skies safe. They’re everywhere, largely unseen. They are us!

Make no mistake. The United States of America would not, could not have persisted without our veterans. Our resource rich nation would be a prize for the plucking. The words of Abraham Lincoln are as valid today as they were on November 19th, 1863, at Gettysburg, because our task endures:

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Toford Kroshus is the pen name of a humorous writer from the Whitehall area. What did you think? Would you continue to read his adventures? Let us know at whledger@gmail.com.