The Veteran

The Veteran
It’s the veteran, who, after birthing the nation with Washington in the Revolution, took his family past the Appalachians to the Mississippi.
It’s the veteran, who, after claiming the dream of Manifest Destiny with Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812, took his family to the Pacific.
It’s the veteran, who, after gaining Freedom for all with Abraham Lincoln, stitched and bound the nation’s wounds with Railroad Ties and Track.
It’s the veteran, who, after freeing Europe with John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, harnessed the industrial power of the nation and brought us through the Great Depression.
It’s the veteran, who, after freeing the world with Eisenhower and McArthur, engineered the marvels of the second half of the 20th Century, and spawned the greatest advances in science and medicine the world had ever known.
It’s the veteran, who, after finding himself back in uniform to cross the Chosen River in Korea, continued the great advances, brought us through the turbulence of the 60’s, and landed us on the Moon.
It is now the duty of the veteran, who, after finding himself far from home in places like An Lao, Chan La or 73 Easting, Jhafji or Tora-Bora or Nasiriyah bear the weight of leadership by example.
It’s the veteran, who time and again after returning from the battle, found his greatest challenge and duty is to be a good husband, a good father, a good employer, a good employee, a mentor to the young, a guardian of rights, a defender of the republic, no longer with bombs and bullets, but with voice and pen. For it is the veteran who has seen the price that was paid for the freedoms most take for granted today.