I work in a hospital, and although I haven't worked in direct patient care for a few years, those years that I did, I was able, due to the nature of my work, to have fairly extensive conversations with my patients, since I often spent the better part of an hour or two in close contact with them. Being a military brat of a man now buried in Arlington, a Navy vet myself, and a hobbyist historian with an interest in the military in particular, I had the opportunity to talk with a lot of veterans. They are easy to spot. If they aren't wearing a unit hat, it will just come out quickly in the conversation, and barring that, you can just tell if you know what to look for. I found I could usually figure out the person was a vet pretty quickly.
I took every opportunity to speak with them and thank them. Spoke with veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam. One of the things I have always been fascinated by is the relationship military men have with the home front.
My favorite movie is "The Best Years of Our Lives", which came out in 1946 and won an Oscar for best picture. If you have never seen it, I cannot emphasize enough that you should. A beautifully done movie, the issues it portrays are just as relevant today as they were back then. An emotional, uplifting movie.
In my conversations with war vets (many had seen combat) most of them don't want their friends and relatives to suffer the privations of war. They wanted them to live their lives to the fullest. They DIDN'T want them to see the sights of war, or smell the smells. Sure, they had times when they thought "I wonder how those bastards would like it if they had to be here in this foxhole/compartment/barracks/tent eating this crap and experiencing this BS." They didn't like the fact that they were deprived of certain comforts or materials and found out the people back home were getting them. Nobody likes it when they can't have a hot shower or eat good chow, and see people back home not only doing both with impunity, but not appreciating it either, but they didn't want them to suffer.
They wanted them to genuinely appreciate what was being done and support them in their efforts.
They wanted HOME to come HOME to. I remembered talking to one guy who was in Germany as the war ended, and was in one of the bombed out cities, and he said it depressed the hell out of him. There was such utter destruction, and he knew back home people had been acting like the war had been over for several months...going to nightclubs and so on. He was glad they never had to experience what he was seeing...he didn't seem to begrudge them their selfish ignorance. He did say, though..."I thought people back home should have been able to see that city to know how lucky they were..." but there was no rancor in the statement. Maybe there was back in 1945, I don't know.
Very well stated.
Appreciation for the little things...
rather than shoveling pasta in the pie hole, oblivious,
that people could/should/would appreciate a warm dinner at a table with a chair in the air conditioning.
And sacrificing a little time and effort to doing everything in their power to support the completion of a mission so that those who eat cold food in hot sand can get back to the family and friends waiting at their own table.
One of the first DVDs I bought! It's also an interesting comparison with Since You Went Away, a softer movie but on a seldom-discussed issue--the effect on the wife and kids while the man is off to war.
Great post, btw. Agree completely with the need for APPRECIATION of what these people do for us. But I've yet to meet one who wanted us to suffer the way Chris Matthews wants us to.