Every morning when I stop for coffee at Sheetz or Rutters, here in York (PA), I see US Military, NEST, Police, Fire etc, and I tell the check-out lady that I've got their tab. She takes care of it, and we settle-up the next morning. I go back through the line, and thank them for their service, shake their hands, and leave with a tear in my eye.
When I came back from 'Nam in '71, after 2 tours w/ 5TH SF 3rd BTN, I was spit upon and had eggs and tomatoes thrown at me and many other Vets. I was arrested in Honolulu for trashing 5 subhuman hippy scumbags who physically attacked a fellow Vet in a wheelchair. It took 6 Honolulu cops to pull me off of them. All went to hospital with serious injuries.
My controllers, 'The Company', came and got me out of that mess. Ha! I'd do it again in a heartbeat, dammit!
LOL! I wish I was old enough and had been there to kick some hippie ass with ya! :-D I've never served in the military (been taking care of my father for the better part of my life), but I have the utmost respect for any man or woman who has served our great country. I have three uncles who served in the US Army. Two of them during the Korean War, and the other was stationed in Germany as part of the NATO force during the beginning of the cold war. Two of them come by to visit once a week, and they frequently talk about their time in the service. Some of the stories are quite interesting, especially the on-leave visits to Japan, if you know what I mean. ;-D Anyway, thank you for your service as well, butternut. You Vietnam vets got a raw deal when you came home, and the subsequent years after, that's for sure.