Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
by Marilyn Grote
I remember as a child the parades and all of the Veterans marching by in uniform and we cheered and waved American Flags. Then we had a big cook out and some fireworks.
As a child I was taught to have great respect for our Veterans and Military. Men in uniform were looked up to, showed a great deal of respect as someone to be very proud of and to stand in awe of. I remember a friend of mine had a brother in the service and we loved him because he was so neat, so sharp and seemed to be so big and strong to us.
Somehow, sometime in the 60's and 70's all of that changed and I didn't realize that it was changing. Service men were not shown respect and the flag was burned and everything seemed to be turning up side down. We let the returning Veterans down by not being there to say thank you, for not giving them a big parade and not standing in awe of them for the job they did and the sacrifices they made. We should have said Welcome Home in a big way.
I went to a parade tonight and was happy to see Rolling Thunder there. As they went by my son, granddaughter and I clapped. All the Veterans on motorcycles with the American Flags and POW/MIA Flags seemed to be demanding respect just by them being there and it reminded me of all the parades I saw as a child and how proudly the Veterans marched forward.
As we stood clapping, just the three of us, the men of Rolling Thunder waved back to us and thanked us and we answered with a big thank you to them. One man saluted me and for some reason I saluted him back and he smiled and I smiled back at him and I hope in some way I made up just a little for the way he might have been treated when he came back home.
On this Veteran's Day I plan on first thanking God for the country I am blessed to live in and for the brave service men and women who were willing to give their lives to protect our freedoms. I plan on watching the parade and clapping for all of them –not as a child in wonder but as an adult who appreciates the sacrifice each one of them made and I still stand in awe of them.
I plan on spending some time praying for the POW/MIA(s) and remembering that we still need to keep on working to bring them all back home. Sad to say our job is not finished yet.
And I plan to thank every Veteran that I see. I want to start by thanking all the Veterans in OJC and every Vet who reads this. I appreciate your sacrifice and your dedication to keeping this country safe. From the bottom of my heart I say thank you and God bless you and how very proud I am of the job you all did.
Marilyn Grote
