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VETERANS DAY: Words of Gratitude Touch Veterans
* “Words of Gratitude Touch Veterans”
As Veteran’s Day approaches this November 11th, 2010, I hope that people everywhere in America will pay tribute to our Nation’s Veterans, both living and dead, and to reach-out to homeless and otherwise financially disabled Veterans.
From time to time I hear derogatory remarks from Non-Veterans about our Nation’s homeless Veterans, Vietnam Veterans, or just Veterans in general. Fortunately, the majority of Americans don’t think this way.
When one enters the various VA Hospitals and Outpatient Clinics Nationwide, one sees tributes on their billboards such as “The price of Freedom is Visible Here” or “If you love your Freedom, Thank a Veteran.”
However, none touched me as much as the tribute that I found on the window at the agent cashier’s office at the VA Outpatient Clinic in Columbus, Ohio in 1997. The Author of this tribute did not give his or her name. However, I hope that this tribute touches you in the same way it has touched others, as well as me.
“The Veteran is the most important person in the Hospital.
The Veteran is not dependent upon us, we are dependent upon him.
The Veteran is not an interruption in our work, he is the purpose of it.
The Veteran is not an outsider to our business, he is our business.
The Veteran is a person and not a statistic.
He has feelings, emotions, biases and wants.
It is our business to meet these needs.
The American Veteran is God’s gift to us. Freedom is his gift to the World.”
*As written and printed in the Shoreline Reporter, November 7, 1997 by this Author and then Guest Columnist Terry Richards, and in the Veterans Free Press in February of 1998 by then Managing Editor Terry Richards.
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=59118
Posted by Terry Richards on Nov 8 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Veterans Affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Terry, I agree with you about the veterans and we need to help the guys that need help, but sooner are later someone is going to start complaining about the length of the soup line and the physical condition of the people standing in the line.
Terry, great writing. It seems David has never served, been divorced, had to watch 3 kids be pulled away from their father, be put on 80 mg of prozac for stress and panic attacks. Or, hasn’t had 4 operations, two repeated because they were half way done due to military cut backs. No sir. Let’s line them all up and shoot them.
But wait, who will fight for our freedoms while the ignorant, over-demanding young people get degree’s and complain about baby killers while driving their Mercedes and BMW’s around while veterans don’t even qualify to scrub the floor and they must be bilingual or they are predjudice. That’s America, right!
Semper Fi America!
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