From the Desktop

As I sat down to write this entry for Veterans’ Day 2009,  it crossed my mind that I did not recall just how many wars or conflicts the United States has been involved in. Oh, the big ones came to me right away: Revolutionary War, the War Between The States (aka Civil War), the Spanish/American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict (War), Gulf War I, Gulf War II, and Afghanistan.

I was sure there were others. I found a timeline here which lists 26 separate conflicts which involved citizens from what is now the United States of America. (Some were before our Revolutionary War.) Eight of them have occurred during my lifetime.

I believe that when our government sends our citizens to fight, whether I agree with the reasons or not, those people deserve my respect. When a person chooses to join our volunteer military, he or she may well die during that service. It does not matter to me whether a military member sees combat or not. He or she agreed to take that risk to protect me and my family from all enemies, foreign or domestic.

I have a lot of servicemen in my family. My ancestors served from the Revolutionary War right on through to my older son’s service in the Army just a couple years ago. Today I want to publically thank them! Without them, I would not have the freedom to own my own business or live life the way I want.

Please, take the time to thank a Veteran. Not just today, but at every opportunity.