puppetmaker | If you like your freedoms, thank a Veteran

Today is Veteran's Day.

I know a number of people who have served in the military formally or informally by being the family member of military personnel.

The old Veteran I know served in World War II. He was in a bomber that made runs over Italy. He was shot at more than once. He made it back. A number of his friends didn't.

I have known a number of people who served in Korea and Vietnam. I met someone this summer who is a writer and we talked about how he was treated when he came back after serving his tour. He told me that one of the things that hurt the most was that no one ever said Thank You to him for serving his country. I shook his hand and said Thank you. Because these people were put in an impossible situation and all they wanted to do was serve their country.

When I was working at Del Rey I worked with a number of authors who had served in the military. One told me that he liked working with me because I respectful of what he had done rather than try to explain to him why military is bad (which apparently happened a couple of times during his career).

I had friends go off in Desert Storm. I watched the lives of some of my peers go totally haywire because of it. A couple didn't make it back at all. But I respected them for doing something I knew I couldn't do.

Now we have people coming back from the Middle East. I have talked to mothers my age who's sons and daughters came home in a coffin. I have had friends count down the days until their loved ones would come home only to have the tour extended and the worry go on. I got to talk to someone I know who came back recently. They said that they liked talking to me because I wasn't judging them or trying to tell them that I was not judging them. I was just letting them be them. She said it was an amazing experience and where she would not have chosen to go, she was glad that she was ordered to.

So go and shake a Veteran's hand and say thank you for what you did for your country.

I am grateful to all Veterans.