Let Them Shine - A Tribute for Veterans Day

Every time I see a news story, a commercial, a photo, or even hear about a story of a man or woman in uniform coming home, I feel like it is happening to me. I feel myself receiving that news, my tears welling up, my heart fluttering away, and my worries burning to a crisp nothing inside. The music and the thought that go into advertisements and embellished stories always help my sobs to strengthen, but this veterans day I find myself needing to do more than feel it.

I have never had someone I love away for months at a time. I've never been the mother to a child who I must leave behind, or the mother to a child who must now be parenting alone for the next several months. I have never carried on a family tradition of enlistment, nor have I come home from an experience overseas that I can no longer think about without overwhelming loneliness or hardness.

 In America we are the land of the free, the home of the brave. We fight for our freedom. We destroy the enemy, and we create hope for our country. We sacrifice, we unite, we conquer. We. In America, we sometimes forget who "we" are.

We are the 19 year old kid fresh out of high school. We are the mother of two, trying to make a better world for her children. We are the brothers, following in our father's footsteps. We are the college dropout, knowing any future is better than none. These men and women are the face of "we" in America. They have made a choice to stand and defend their country, regardless of their reason to enlist. They have made the sacrifice that the rest of America will reap benefits from. It is so important to remember that we Americans have stood alongside our televisions, praying our children and our husbands and wives come home at all. We have written letters, sent photos, and stood on the sidelines. Though we have all felt heartache, we have never been in their shoes. We have never risked our lives, never uprooted ourselves, we have never made a sacrifice of our own life, to defend our country.

"We" have spent nights alone lying on unknown soils, in a foreign country, facing death each day. We have seen our brothers and sisters fall to wars that were not ours, and we have seen innocent blood shed. We have been afraid for our lives every second, and we have become numb to reality. We have lost part of who we are somewhere overseas, or somewhere in training, somewhere along the line. It has been replaced with duty, with a goal, with an outcome. "We" may never have seen battle, or have never been in direct battle, but we still willingly took that risk on, not knowing what the outcome would be. The scariest part of not being present at a battlefield, is knowing that you may have to be, but you just don't know.

Our country stands united with "we", but lest we forget that divided "we" fall. There is no belittling, for we are all Americans. We are all significant. However, on Veterans day it is important to remember that someone you do not know, has died for your freedom. A family has lost a child, a husband, or a wife, so you can live the way you do each day in America. Free. It is vital to realize someone else sacrificed their youth, their marriage, their parenthood, their educational opportunities, to enlist and to protect and serve you.

Perhaps it is enough for someone to go to a parade, and feel a sense of pride in their country, but I encourage you this veterans day to feel and act with gratitude and compassion. Thank an active duty member or veteran for your protection, for standing tall for our country, for making sure you could live a life so many in this world have never known. Realize that you are so lucky to have them on your side, and maybe then you will realize how much they need you too.

They need to be reminded that they are heroes. They come home and feel they must fit back into a "normal routine", and they need your help doing that. They need your love and compassion, your patience, and most of all, your gratitude. They did not fight to obey the president, they fought to keep you safe. Loving our men and women in uniform goes beyond discounted meals, drinks, and one day only sales. It goes beyond parades and flags and television specials, loving them does not last only one day, but a lifetime. Your pride in them, your thanks, and your remembrance of their sacrifices each and every day, even if just for a minute, is the love they deserve.

 Loving a veteran has been one of the most eye open experiences. They have so much to give you, and they ask for so little in return. Their strength and determination is remarkable, and I encourage you to pull them close, for it is a decision you will not regret. A precious soul may have been lost, yet another has been spared. Give those souls your utmost thanks and love, and they will not perish.

This veterans day, dim your world a bit, and let these men and women shine.