Simple Thoughts of Service on Veteran's Day

One of the most interesting interviews I ever did as a reporter was when I sat down with my dad in New Hampshire one evening and had him talk to me about his experiences of World War II. He was in the U.S. Navy, teaching pilots how to fly. But because my dad questioned the safety of the aircraft, he was assigned to be a deck officer rather than fly combat missions in the Pacific. Fine by me: I think it kept him safe.

During the interview, dad and I talked about war itself. He was candid and condemned the whole idea of fighting as way of solving problems. He noted how different war was for the Navy versus the combat troops in Europe.

"There's a difference between shooting a gun and firing a cannon. You don't see the person that's gonna get hurt by the cannon. You don't ever see the people who are suffering from what you're doing."

"You aren't doing anything that really improves the world or anything of that nature. You convince yourself that you're doing a helluva good job and the other guys are doing a bad job anyhow (long pause). It makes you feel better that you're doing the right thing whereas they're doing the wrong thing."

My dad, like many other veterans of WWII, was not into the glorification and being called, "The greatest generation." I think that's important to remember on Veteran's Day. I think for the vast majority of those who have served the country as a member of the military, their service wasn't about parades and medals and hero worship. It was about fulfilling a duty and an obligation they felt for their nation. To truly honor our veterans, we should be mindful of the dangers we've asked them to endure on behalf of our country, and we should strive to end the conflicts that put them into danger. Troops are returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with missing limbs and messed up psyches from having been under attack. Our government continues to think it's good military strategy to discharge men and women because of their sexual orientation without thinking about what the loss of Arabic translators might mean for our security. I see these realities on Veteran's Day and I think we could do better by these folks.

Today, I offer prayers for those who served and those are still serving in our armed forces. And I pray that our country's leadership will strive for justice and peace for our military and the world.