Remembering Our Veterans–Our Freedom Has Never Been Free!
This is not going to be an ordinary blog post about remembering our Veterans. I’m saying this because a lot of times, we only remember or recognize the wars that have happened while we were on this earth. I was not alive during the years of the Civil War 1861-1865, at end of war we became the United States of America. No matter which side you were on, that war was a major turning point to make us the country we are today.
After that we had wars such as 1898 Spanish-American war, 1914-1918 World War I, 1939-1945 World War II, 1950-1953 Korean War, 1960-1975 Vietnam War, 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1983 Grenada, 1989 US Invasion of Panama, 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, 1995-1996 Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2001 Invasion of Afghanistan, 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Of course there were wars even before those dates, but I am listing the ones that we fought in as a complete force of the United States where we were joined, North and South alike.
Yes we need to completely recognize our soldiers that are still fighting, and our retired Veterans that are still alive, but we also need to recognize the lives that were lost in recent years, AND the lives that were lost in the earlier years. Our country and our lives would not be how they are today, starting with those early years that we were not here.
We also need to thank the families that raised these unique, patriotic individuals that have fought for us, for without them we would not have those soldiers. Also pay a tribute to the families that supported their soldiers while at war and lost them to the wars. Our country is made up of remarkable people, all I can say is thank you to the troops and families for fighting and supporting our country against enemies. IT IS BECAUSE OF YOU THAT I AM PROUD TO CALL MYSELF AN AMERICAN!
Irene Walters
11-11-2013