Veteran's Day

I start this Veteran's Day tomorrow with a heavy heart. Veteran's Day began after WWII to remember our fallen soldiers and veterans from the war. Now, it's about all vets, and some say not just those in the U.S.

One of our most recent soldier’s deaths made the news at CNN: Army Sergeant Willsun Mock, a 23 year old man from Kansas. I didn’t know this man, but he was obviously a patriot and a true American. Many might not agree with the Iraq war. Nevertheless, I will never quit supporting these brave men and women. Their value to this country is greater than anything many others including myself have ever given. Following are some quotes from this great warrior. The full article can be read here.

"I think not only me has changed, I think that everybody that was there, enemy, friendly, everybody walked away changed."

"Nobody wants to die out here even though the soldiers would for our country. Any of them would -- that's not a question."

"’It would break my heart to see one of my brothers in the military serving in a place like this,’ he said when asked why he would stay in the military. ‘I would much rather myself suffer than one of them, and they have kids to think about, and I'm a little young for that right now. And it's good serving with the men; it's good serving for this great nation.’”

"Every time we lose soldiers and we have our ceremonies here for the fallen comrades and they play the taps for those men -- that's probably the moments that will stay in my mind more than ever."

I stand in the shadow of them all. SGT Mock, and all of them over here and abroad, is a giant to the rest of us. There is nothing greater, and I am humbled everyday by their deeds and sacrifice. I can’t complain about my life, not ever, in the 28 years that I have been so lucky to have. Many of those from World War I to our current situation in Iraq, never got that much.

Remember our vets tomorrow. From the iron men, wooden ships, and cloth airplanes of World War II and before, to the rock-solid men and women now serving our great nation. Never forget them.

Semper Paratus,

A humbled sailor from the United States Coast Guard