A number of my friends are Veterans, as are many of my acquaintances. For years, on Veterans’ Day during veteran recognition, I remained silent and seated. A spectator. Although I served my country in the Army National Guard, I didn’t feel I deserved to be called a veteran. (I was a cook—not even wounded there!) My unit was never deployed—we remained in my hometown, Sandersville, GA. Out of respect to “official” veterans, I usually quipped, “The only combat I experienced was fighting mosquitoes at”Camp Swampy”—Ft. Stewart, GA.”
My friend, the late Col. Richard (Dick) Baker, a Marine, corrected me one day. He said, “You took The Oath. You promised to serve. You served your tour. You are a Veteran.” He got my attention. As I thought about what he said, I remembered that just a few months after I was discharged, my unit was put on alert—and deployed. My fellow soldiers, their wives and children, were uprooted. If I had I not already been discharged my life too, would have been dramatically uprooted. So. I took another tack and took seriously the true meaning of “The Oath.”
Now, on Veterans Day (which happens to be today) I contact friends who are veterans, and thank them for their service. We all took The Oath: “I, ____________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
The phrase “… foreign and domestic…” was added after the Civil War, because Congress realized that enemies could (and did) arise within the homeland. It is a serious oath. Veterans’ cemeteries and gravestones testify to the gravity of The Oath. Deployment seals how seriously these faithful men and women take The Oath, as they prepare their Last Will and Testament—and their “final” plans. It signals the potential that they may indeed make the ultimate sacrifice.
By the time you read this, very likely you will have already attended, viewed, or participated in a Veterans Day observance. Veterans Day is in appreciation for the living service members, a kind of “Thank you” for your service. (Memorial Day honors those who did in fact make the ultimate sacrifice).
War is evil. Long ago a general said, “War is Hell!” Politically motivated war—even more so. But our faithful service members, impervious to ignoble war initiatives, run toward the fight to “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;” For taking that oath of ultimate commitment, we thank them.
Today, this Veterans Day, we say “Thank You!” As we lift our eyes toward the Prince of Peace, in the eternal hope that step by step, we—as the old Spiritual says we “…ain’t gonna study war no more…” In a few weeks, Christians will hear the words (sung and/or spoken) from the old Prophet Isaiah; he speaks of a world where instead of fighting each other, people would transform machines of war into instruments of help, health, and hope for humanity.
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2022
Thank you for calling Al this morning. It meant a lot to him. Although he knew even while he was in Vietnam it was a war we had no chance of winning, he served with a construction battalion in the Corps of Engineers. As your friend Dick Baker said, he took the oath. So did you. This “Fridays With Willis” newsletter means a lot to us. Keep writing! We miss you.
Hi Dottie, I thought I’d replied to this. It was wonderful to talk with the two of you! I miss y’all! Al, our Dottie Hunt now has a banjo. She is learning to play our songs on it. We practice in Tom’s house every Sunday afternoon. We’re still hanging in there!
I understand. I am a Vietnam Era veteran, but I did not go to Vietnam. I did volunteer to be a tail gunner on a helicopter, and to go to Vietnam. The base commander called me to his office to ask if I was a mercenary. I said, no sir, I just want to get off this base. He said, I got news for you, you are not going anywhere.
I didn/t even get deployed. Nevertheless you and I are veterans. We took The Oath. Read my fridayswithwillis for November 11, and you will understand.