“The wonders the World War II vets had done for themselves and their country…” – Happy Veterans Day

Veteran:  noun
1
a : an old soldier of long service
b : a former member of the armed forces
2
: a person of long experience usually in some occupation or skill (as politics or the arts)

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So, today we honor our veterans.  Yes, we should.  Living in our home is Jeannie’s father, Master Chief Petty Officer, R. L. Johnston, Jr., Retired.  (Her mother was also a Veteran, and she passed away just a short while ago).  He was a disciplined sailor, who stood his post using his flags to signal from ship-to-ship.  Just a few months ago, we brought him pictures from the USS Laffey (Destroyer) we toured in Charleston at Patriots Point.  The picture he most wanted to see was from the signal station.

USS Caldwell

During WWII, a kamikaze hit just feet from him on the USS Caldwell.  (Yes, he has talked about it, but not often, and still, after decades, with great emotion).  During the attack, he stood his post and sent and received critical messages.  From Wikipedia:

On 11 December, Caldwell had a near miss with a kamikaze, and the next day, while escorting landing craft to Ormoc Bay, she bore the brunt of the air attack. Hit on the bridge simultaneously by a kamikaze and fragments from a two-bomb straddle, the destroyer suffered 33 killed and 40 wounded including the commanding officer. Despite the heavy damage, Caldwell’s after guns continued to fire on enemy planes, while her damage control parties saved the ship.

After the war, he spent decades active in the Navy Reserve, training new generations of communication specialists.

The very word “Veteran” fits him perfectly.  He put in years of service.  And the discipline he practiced has always been a defining characteristic of his daily life.  (Did he learn this sort of discipline in the Navy; did he already have it?  I suspect that the Navy only developed more fully what was already true about Mr. Johnston.  This I do know – he has always been so very disciplined).

His story can be repeated about your friends and relatives.  Men and women who went to serve, with equally selfless and heroic stories of their own to tell.

Our country is what it is because of all that came before, as is every country.  And in our case, the men and women who served kept us free, and many either paid the ultimate price, or watched those close to them pay that price…  And then this “greatest generation” brought their experience and training into our communities, our companies and organizations, and continued to build this country that we love and share.

What did the veterans provide to a needy nation?  In the essay on the GI Bill, Rights for Those Who Fought for Them by Richard Reeves, included in the terrific collection of essays, Defining a Nation, edited by David Halberstam, we get a hint:

The president of Harvard, James Conant, said in 1944 that he was distressed by the GI Bill because it did not distinguish between “those who could profit form advanced education and those who cannot.”  Two years later, in June of 1946, Conant took it back, saying, “The veterans are the most mature and promising students Harvard has ever had.” 

When the Korean War’s GI Bill passed in 1952 (again from the essay by Richard Reeves):

The Senate vote was unanimous, and the House of Representatives vote was 361-to-1.  In the debate over the bill, there was no mention of breadlines or disgruntled veterans, just lyrical talk about the wonders the World War II vets had done for themselves and their country.

“The wonders the World War II vets had done for themselves and their country…”  And, it is a wonder!  Happy Veterans Day to all of our veterans.