What Veterans Are (Still) Owed On The 4th of July

[rangerrebew]

What Veterans Are (Still) Owed On The 4th of July

July 4, 2020 by Scott Faith 
 
 

Author’s Note: About this time in the year 2014, I wrote an article about what I felt we veterans were owed on the 4th of July. This article was, in part, a response to what I saw as the steady increase of self-entitled veteran behavior creeping into our community. It seemed that every time a veteran got into trouble, or got into some kind of argument, or wanted some kind of special benefit, the “let me off the hook because I’m a vet” card was played, the “you owe me” attitude cropped up, or the “I’m right, because I’m a veteran” retort came out.

Moreover, I increasingly saw veterans playing up the “dysfunctional veteran” persona, or asking for people to be “considerate of fireworks” around combat veterans, thereby reinforcing the negative stereotypes of “veterans as victims” that the media wants to lay over our entire community and making all of our lives harder.  So, I decided to write about these issues.

Predictably, the article ruffled some feathers when it was first posted.  A frequent response, as you can see in the comments section in the original article, was along the lines of “you must not be a veteran” or  “did u serve,” as if a true veteran can’t think or speak critically of his or her own community.

https://havokjournal.com/culture/what-veterans-are-still-owed-on-the-4th-of-july/

[AL]

Being a veteran I don't expect much.  For those of us serving during the Viet Nam Era we sometimes were met with outright hostility from our citizens, never during those years did I have someone thank me for my service.  Today things are a bit different, when I wear one of my navy caps I frequently have people come up and say thanks for your service.  I love parades, I always give a proper hand salute to the colors and to any officer in the parade, I have on a few occasions had an officer stop the car he was riding in and come over and return the salute and say hello.  I also give a good salute to the career chiefs and sergeants I see.

The only respect I expect, is from other military people and none of those have ever lost my respect.  With non-veterans, I always consider that they don't know about comraderies, about taking an oath that has meaning, about depending on you shipmates or squad members, about God and Country, and about being loyal to the Commander in Chief.  But, times are changing, I do get more thanks for your service than ever before.

So whatever its worth ranger... you have my respect and always will brother.