A Salute to Our Veterans

Commentary--

As a U.S. Naval veteran of the Korean Era, I wish to salute all veterans of all of our wars. Of the several jobs I held after discharge, I consider the most valued of all, and one which I did with pride, was the five years I spent as a job counselor for returning Viet-Nam Veterans. I counseled men with a variety of missing limbs, hands, and miscellaneous prosthetic devices. Some were understandably bitter, having returned to hateful anti-war demonstrators, but others demonstrated positive attitudes, as they returned to the job of finding work and starting or continuing with their families.

On this Memorial Day, 2012, I am seeing the Viet-Nam Veteran beginning to receive the public acknowledgement of his service, which had been denied for so long. Today, Viet-Nam veterans occupy many leadership positions in industry and government.

Sadly, today, some universities, and public schools, along with much of the news media, portray our current service men and women as less than honorable and deny them the respect that is rightfully theirs.

I hope the future bodes much better for our returning service men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.