Friday, November 12, 2010

Veteran's Day 2010

I received a call from my oldest grand child, Anjah Fawcett. Her father suggested she thank me for my service which she did. She  hadn't known that I served in the military. I felt bad that I haven't been keeping up with the blog, hence this message.

I attended Graeden and Elliott's Dutch Hill School assembly honoring veterans yesterday. The kindergartners used sign language to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the whole school sang patriotic songs, including "Eating Goober Peas" which I learned was a Confederate soldier song. It's nice to be honored. Like when you go to shows at Branson, Mo. they will  normally have veterans stand (about a forth of the people). You sign up and serve at low pay for four or five years and often risk your life all because you love your country. After all, someone has to do it. A video of Dutch Hill kindergartners at a social for veterans after the assembly, the kids when asked what a veteran is mostly answered that they help animals. I am proud of our school system that after their first few months of going to school, every one of those students knows what a veteran is and would thank me without being prompted.

With me, as with many others, there are ulterior motives to join. For me in 1963 just before the Vietnam War men were eligible for a draft lottery. That's a lottery you generally do not want to win. I signed up for the Air Force and received my draft notice while at Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. I was much happier to be in the Air Force in the officer program rather than to be an enlisted grunt in the Army. My enlistment date was August 3rd, and I endured three months of hot weather and scorpions. I learned to tie my blanket tight so I could pass the daily inspections and also learned how to clean a toilet with a sponge rather than a brush (not clean enough). I had a zipper sewn on the bottom of my laundry bag which was tied by its cords in a very precise manner onto the end of the bed frame, because I didn't want to have to untie it everyday. To leave the room unattended you had to unplug every plug-in except an electric clock, even if you needed to go to the adjoining bathroom, unless your roommate was in the room. That includes the fan which was essential for comfortable living. By the way, I slept under a sheet (not the tight blanket) which was stashed ("panicked") during the day in the zippered "panic bag" hanging from the end of the bed. My bureau drawers had to have underwear and socks that were tightly rolled with the edge that showed forming a "smile" and spaced evenly in the drawer.

When you went outside, you always wore a cover (hat) and received an infraction (gig) if you were caught uncovered. After graduating, it was weeks before I felt comfortable being bareheaded outside. I discovered that I can have a very loud voice (I rarely use it anymore - not even my kids have heard it). When I served as the Duty Officer, staying in the school headquarters office over night) I had to announce the Uniform of the Day and events of the day that would be happening after I had rung the buzzer wakealarm. I surprised myself and others that I could yell so loud in each hallway. We marched everywhere we went as a group. When walking with another person, the higher ranking person is up always on the right. You always salute a higher ranking Officer Trainee or a real officer. They always salute you back.

In one of my leadership training classes, I gave a speech once on buying a car. Most of my classmates would buy a new car when they graduated as Second Lieutenants. I argued that that was a foolish waste of money because the new car loses value the moment you drive it off the lot. Much better, I told the class, to buy a good used car but to put the payment they would have made on a new car into a savings account. That way, after a few years they could buy another car with cash after having earned interest rather than spent money on interest. My friends thought this was a crazy idea, but it is still a good idea!

I'll tell more later, but I wanted to point out something about our military. If you enjoy your food, do you thank a farmer or a grocer? If you are educated, do you thank your teachers. If you enjoy reading English, do you thank a publisher? Sure, thank them, but without a strong military, none of those services would be available without the freedom provided you by each soldier or other military member who dedicated his life to maintain the good life you are accustomed to. Freedom isn't free. It is paid for often with the lives of those who chose to serve their fellow Americans.

Thank a Veteran.