Something happened today that brought a tear and a smile to me at the same time..
A complete stranger with pants down to his 'crack' and a skateboard in his hands...walked up to me and asked ,in a demanding voice,if I was a veteran from the way I acted,spoke and carried myself.
I humble answered that i in fact was,expecting a tirade of how war was no good and we should be home and it was a useless waste of lives ... and all of a sudden ,with a tear in his eye...
He said 'Thanks,just thanks'.. There was no need to ask what for.. We both knew,
You see after speaking with him and a little prying...Unbeknownst to moi' . this young lad had lost his dad in one of our conflicts and his comrade vets had brought his dad home for the family.
In one of his many e-mails his dad mentioned the term most vets are familiar with and a code we lived and died by.. "No one left behind"
this young fellow just wanted to offer a kind word to one of those comrades..
I did not know his dad but that did not seem to matter to this young man..
I went away with a different view of a young man with scruffy hair and pants hung below the knees..
Please take the time to say a personal thank you to one or more of our veterans.We may look at you with a surprised face or glance away from your stare,,but deep,deep down inside we are forever grateful and humbled by your comment.
Lest we forget..