Veteran's Day 2008

Veteran's Day this year a mixed bag for me. My Granddad served in WWI, I was an Army brat until my dad was KIA in Korea. My Uncle, who passed away last year, was in the Navy at Okinawa during WWII. Even had some kin folks who served in the Revolutionary War. And I did my stint in the Navy as well.

I was raised by my Grandparents (paternal) and we had a Flag up every day.

Last year was my first visit to Arlington, The Wall, The Korean Memorial, and all the the others on The Mall in DC.

This year, though, it's difficult to see the faces of those who've gone before. There's a growing miasma that threatens to bedim their legacy.

That which once engendered pride, awe, and even love, is being dismissed with an ease I never thought possible.

For those who Fought, Bled and Died For It
Freedom has a flavor the protected will never Know or Savor.
- Anonymous

"War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
- John Stuart Mill