February 27, 2011 saw the death of 110 year old Frank Buckles. Mr. Buckles had the dubious distinction of being the last surviving American veteran of World War I. He lied about his age and joined the U.S. Army to go fight the Germans in France. After the war, he got a job with a shipping company and lived in the Philippines. In 1942 he was taken prisoner by the Japanese and spent 3 years as a prisoner of war.
Almost 100 years ago, we had Americans lying about their age to go fight for their country. In World War II, people often committed suicide when told they were not medically eligible to join the service. In Vietnam they happily burned the flag and skipped over the border to Canada. Today Americans speak of our country as if it were a dirty word.
How did we make this 180 degree turn in such a seemingly short while? I think it is a matter of priorities. Most people know nothing about Medal of Honor winners like Lt. Michael Murphy or Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, but they can tell you why Lindsay Lohan is in trouble again. Most people cannot tell you who we are fighting in Afghanistan, but they can tell you if they are on Team Angelina or Team Jennifer and why.
We no longer honor the people that protect us and our rights and that puzzles me. This is no longer a society of people that put their lives on hold to step into harms way and fight. We are a nation of people that happily sit back and say, "let somebody else go, I'm too important". I am not a veteran of the military and for that I am greatly ashamed, but I will give my respect to every last person that wears the uniform or our country. Despite what anyone says, this is the greatest country in the world only because of the men and women who fight for us.
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