Honoring, thanking and thinking of our veterans
Posted By RichC on November 11, 2010
While contemplating how to best comment on Veterans Day this year, I’ve decided that I would detour my trip home tonight and stop in to thank my dad in person 
for his service in Korea. Although in the past he generally avoided even acknowledging it, in recent years he and his fellow veterans have become more open (a lot to do with the current generation appreciative attitude toward all veterans). When we took the “Honor Trip to Washington DC” last spring his military service became a more positive experience. I think he appreciates the recognition for his service from the community and enjoys connecting with other vets. Thankfully the wounds our country grappled with after the Vietnam War have somewhat healed and Americans as a whole have made an effort as a whole to give all veterans the respect they have always deserved. My heartfelt thank you to all who have served the call of their country … especially my dad.
I also listened to a radio program on XM’s WHYY’s feed this morning which feature a couple of surgeons who worked on the battlefield. One, Dr. James Finnegan, wrote a book titled In the Company of Marines: A Surgeon Remembers Vietnam. where he reflects on the heroic service of a fellow doctor – Dr. Ed Feldman.
A couple of statistics shared by Dr. Finnegan that I found interesting about Vietnam Vets:
- 97% of the 2.7 million were discharged ‘honorably’
- As a whole, Vietnam vets have higher incomes and lower drug use than the nation as a whole
- 80% say that knowing what they know now, they would go back again
Comments