Veteran's Day 2022

The Eagle's Watch

In a quiet river valley Lies a green and peaceful place, Where warriors come to rest, Having honorably met their fates.

No more do they stand the watch, Their worthy service done, They've passed their duties on To other Fathers' sons.

Yet flying high above them, On silent wings spread wide, Soars freedom.s embodiment And a country's sign of pride.

The mighty Eagle watches o'er all, And guards their well-earned rests. For he like they, knows the feel, Of Freedom in his chest.

And though he does his best to guard The fallen warriors' sleep, Still at times he grows so weary, And must rest his wings a-beat.

So slowly he glides his way, To where the fallen rest. And there he bides his time a bit, Among the honored Vets.

And though he knows no words, Of the valiant warriors' speech. Still they communicate, In a way that words can't reach.

Having communed with those who lie, Among the rows of stone. The Eagle takes to flight again, And resumes his post alone.

In endless soaring circles, He surely makes his rounds. Guarding the fallen heroes, Who make this hollowed ground.

Armistice day. Now it’s a catch all for every slug that has ever work a uniform whether heroic or not. It was supposed to be a solemn day to remember the horrors of WWI. Instead of creating a dedicated veterans day, they glommed onto Armistice Day and took it over just like we got MLK day by combining Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays into “President’s day” and giving MLK the other.

Armistice day matters.

One of my most powerful memories is from the day I visited Arlington National Cemetery about 10 years ago. It was a cold,dreary weekday...not many people there.Or,at least,not as many as I expected (it was my first,and only,visit to Arlington).

We went to the Korean War "section” and then to the WWII “section”. The WWII section was pretty empty...only a few people there besides us. However,there was a man in a wheelchair being pushed by a man that I'll wager was his son. He was at least in his 80s and he looked very frail indeed. He was dressed in a jacket and a cap that indicated that he was a Marine. I got close enough to see that tears were streaming down his face.

I was gonna approach him to shake his hand but I decided not to...this was a moment for him and his son.

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