Earn This

 I'm lucky.  It has been nearly fifty years since I wore an Army uniform.  The draft was still with us in those days and military service was considered a right of passage for most young men. The war in Vietnam had the country's draft boards churning out 1-A classifications by the thousands in the 1960's and '70's.  In the summer of 1971 I found myself stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia with just a couple of weeks left of signal officer training before orders dictated that my duffel bag and I were set for an "unaccompanied twelve month tour in Southeast Asia."  When you're that young and hopelessly naive it's easy to feel as if nothing can harm you or interfere with the always large plans you have for the future.  I was ready to go, certain that the war was something to get out of the way before returning home and a resumption of my life as a radio Gypsy.

All of us were clueless regarding why we had been ordered to a noon meeting that hot August afternoon but the sense that something was up had us all buzzing.  There were officers from the Pentagon on the stage of the auditorium standing next to piles of what turned out to be orders.  New orders, our orders.  After putting us at ease a major said, "Congratulations men, you are the first class from this school to NOT be going to Vietnam."  As part of President Nixon's plan to wind down the war he was ordering the First Infantry Division and the 82nd Airborne Division home from Southeast Asia.  It was a ruse of sorts considering that the only troops from those two outfits actually returning to America were the men from headquarters company.  The remainder of both divisions would be shifted to other units still in Vietnam while the 1st and the 82nd would be fleshed out stateside by those of us at Fort Gordon.  In hindsight  I now realize this was probably one of the luckiest days of my life.  I would spend the next couple of years with the Big Red One (1st Infantry' Division) playing war games and training for European NATO defense on the frozen and dusty plains of Fort Riley, Kansas.  Nobody would be trying to blow me up or shoot me.  If I could just dodge the Kansas cow flop, I would live to comb gray hair.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about those Army days and the shared experience of serving with men (no women in those days) whom I came to think of as family.  I guess it's the "all for one and one for all" atmosphere of military service that makes it hard to forget.   Also, nothing has made me more happy and proud than to see the new found respect for our service members that is now so pervasive.  There were no "thank you for your service" greetings during Vietnam war era.  Just wearing the uniform in public invited dirty looks and "baby killer" insults.  If you remember those days you are no doubt happy to note the about face.

Sitting by the fire on a cold day in northern Idaho with Veterans' Day and the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I approaching, it is with a grateful heart that I think of all the men and women who weren't as lucky as I.  It is beyond humbling to consider the price paid by the thousands who bore the heavy lift of battle only to be come home in a box or forever changed.  We, as citizens of this still free nation, can never sufficiently thank them.  It simply isn't possible.  We can, however, strive to live our lives in ways that are mindful of the ante paid by so few.  As he lay dying In the movie Saving Private Ryan, the captain, played by Tom Hanks, says to one of his men, "earn this."  He is referring to the freedom from the tyranny of the Nazis that will be the reward of an Allied victory.  Though he won't be going home he wants others to live their lives in appreciation of the sacrifice of the dead and dying.  It's an unforgettable scene and perhaps the perfect admonition to all of us living in this wonderful and still free country.  Let's earn it.

Veterans' Day 2018

Never forget.