those who served, and those who serve...
The following was passed along via our union list...
--------------
The Los Angeles Fire Department takes pride in its credo:
"...At All Times, Service Above Self".
There are times however, when our efforts - no matter how valiant - should
be rightfully overshadowed. One such time is this Tuesday. Please join us in
pondering...
>=====
WHAT IS A VET?
Some Veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged
scar, a certain look in their eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a
piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: a
soul forged in the refinery of adversity.
Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe
wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.
What is a Vet?
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two
gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of
fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown
frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four
hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep
sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another -or- didn't
come back AT ALL.
He is the Quantico Drill Instructor that has never seen combat - but has
saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang
members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's
backs.
He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals
with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him
by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence
at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all
the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with
them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and
aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a **** death camp and who wishes
all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares
come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered
some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who
sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to
sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is
nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest,
greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean
over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it
will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.
Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".
Remember, November 11th is Veterans Day.
=====<
One fine man probably summarized it best...
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to
demonstrate.
It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and
whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the
flag.
Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC
=====
Stay Safe, Be Well... and Please Take Time to Remember,
Our online home is at http://www.iaff1264.org
Union Firefighter Network - Supporting the career Firefighter
http://www.unionfirefighters.net
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
The following was passed along via our union list...
--------------
The Los Angeles Fire Department takes pride in its credo:
"...At All Times, Service Above Self".
There are times however, when our efforts - no matter how valiant - should
be rightfully overshadowed. One such time is this Tuesday. Please join us in
pondering...
>=====
WHAT IS A VET?
Some Veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged
scar, a certain look in their eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a
piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: a
soul forged in the refinery of adversity.
Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe
wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.
What is a Vet?
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two
gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of
fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown
frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four
hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep
sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another -or- didn't
come back AT ALL.
He is the Quantico Drill Instructor that has never seen combat - but has
saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang
members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's
backs.
He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals
with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him
by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence
at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all
the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with
them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and
aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a **** death camp and who wishes
all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares
come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered
some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who
sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to
sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is
nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest,
greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean
over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it
will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.
Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".
Remember, November 11th is Veterans Day.
=====<
One fine man probably summarized it best...
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to
demonstrate.
It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and
whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the
flag.
Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC
=====
Stay Safe, Be Well... and Please Take Time to Remember,
Our online home is at http://www.iaff1264.org
Union Firefighter Network - Supporting the career Firefighter
http://www.unionfirefighters.net
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
