A Thank You to all Vietnam Vets from a Marine in Iraq
>>
>> A guy gets time to think over here and I was thinking about all the
>> support we get from home. Sometimes it's overwhelming. We get care packages at
>> times faster than we can use them. There are boxes and boxes of toiletries and
>> snacks lining the center of every tent; the generosity has been amazing.
>> So, I was pondering the question: "Why do we have so much support?"
>>
>> In my opinion, it all came down to one thing: Vietnam Veterans. I think we
>> learned a lesson, as a nation, that no matter what, you have to support
>> the troops who are on the line, who are risking everything. We treated them
>> so poorly back then. When they returned was even worse. The stories are
>> nightmarish of what our returning warriors were subjected to. It is a national
>> scar, a blemish on our country, an embarrassment to all of us.
>>
>> After Vietnam , it had time to sink in. The guilt in our collective
>> consciousness grew. It shamed us. However, we learned from our mistake. Somewhere
>> during the late 1970's and on into the 80's, we realized that we can't
>> treat our warriors that way. So ... starting during the Gulf War, when the
>> first real opportunity arose to stand up and support the troops, we did. We
>> did it to support our friends and family going off to war. But we also did it
>> to right the wrongs from the Vietnam era. We treat our troops of today
>> like the heroes they were, and are, acknowledge and celebrate their sacrifice,
>> and rejoice at their homecoming ... instead of spitting on them.
>>
>> And that support continues today for those of us in Iraq . Our country
>> knows that it must support us and it does. The lesson was learned in Vietnam
>> and we are all better because of it.
>>
>> Everyone who has gone before is a hero. They are celebrated in my heart. I
>> think admirably of all those who have gone before me. From those who
>> fought to establish this country in the late 1770's to those I serve with here
>> in Iraq . They have all sacrificed to ensure our freedom. But when I get
>> back home, I'm going to make it a personal mission to specifically thank every
>> Vietnam Vet I encounter for THEIR sacrifice. Because if nothing else good
>> came from that terrible war, one thing did. It was the lesson learned on
>> how we treat our warriors. We as a country learned from our mistake and now
>> we treat our warriors as heroes, as we should have all along. I am the
>> beneficiary of their sacrifice. Not only for the freedom they, like veterans
>> from other wars, ensured, but for how well our country now treats my fellow
>> Marines and I. We are the beneficiaries of their sacrifice.
>>
>> Semper Fidelis,
>>
>> Major Brian P. Bresnahan
>> United States Marine Corps
>>
>>
>>
>> A guy gets time to think over here and I was thinking about all the
>> support we get from home. Sometimes it's overwhelming. We get care packages at
>> times faster than we can use them. There are boxes and boxes of toiletries and
>> snacks lining the center of every tent; the generosity has been amazing.
>> So, I was pondering the question: "Why do we have so much support?"
>>
>> In my opinion, it all came down to one thing: Vietnam Veterans. I think we
>> learned a lesson, as a nation, that no matter what, you have to support
>> the troops who are on the line, who are risking everything. We treated them
>> so poorly back then. When they returned was even worse. The stories are
>> nightmarish of what our returning warriors were subjected to. It is a national
>> scar, a blemish on our country, an embarrassment to all of us.
>>
>> After Vietnam , it had time to sink in. The guilt in our collective
>> consciousness grew. It shamed us. However, we learned from our mistake. Somewhere
>> during the late 1970's and on into the 80's, we realized that we can't
>> treat our warriors that way. So ... starting during the Gulf War, when the
>> first real opportunity arose to stand up and support the troops, we did. We
>> did it to support our friends and family going off to war. But we also did it
>> to right the wrongs from the Vietnam era. We treat our troops of today
>> like the heroes they were, and are, acknowledge and celebrate their sacrifice,
>> and rejoice at their homecoming ... instead of spitting on them.
>>
>> And that support continues today for those of us in Iraq . Our country
>> knows that it must support us and it does. The lesson was learned in Vietnam
>> and we are all better because of it.
>>
>> Everyone who has gone before is a hero. They are celebrated in my heart. I
>> think admirably of all those who have gone before me. From those who
>> fought to establish this country in the late 1770's to those I serve with here
>> in Iraq . They have all sacrificed to ensure our freedom. But when I get
>> back home, I'm going to make it a personal mission to specifically thank every
>> Vietnam Vet I encounter for THEIR sacrifice. Because if nothing else good
>> came from that terrible war, one thing did. It was the lesson learned on
>> how we treat our warriors. We as a country learned from our mistake and now
>> we treat our warriors as heroes, as we should have all along. I am the
>> beneficiary of their sacrifice. Not only for the freedom they, like veterans
>> from other wars, ensured, but for how well our country now treats my fellow
>> Marines and I. We are the beneficiaries of their sacrifice.
>>
>> Semper Fidelis,
>>
>> Major Brian P. Bresnahan
>> United States Marine Corps
>>
>>
