Veterans' Day

Happy Veterans Day and Marine Corps Birthday to all of you out there! This day for me has a bittersweetness to it. With Rich in Iraq and my Dad (a former marine) no longer with us, I feel a sense of pride mixed with melancholy on this day. In the last 10 years while living in Florida, my father returned to his military roots and with that came the celebration of the Marine Corps birthday, all of the songs, honor, and bonds of brotherhood too. I began seeing a face to the US Military I had not known before, or at least had never been that close to home. November 11th was a big day for my Dad and his buddies and they would go to great lengths to throw some legendary parties. . . among the retired community anyway.

And now, in the last eight months, a year and a half after my father's passing, the US Military is again playing a role in my life. A new face of the military has shown itself to me. This time it is in the face of the man I will marry. (Geeze, you think Freud have something to say here?). Rich is in the Army and stationed in Baghdad. A recent veteran, he is working with the people of the city to bring about peace, change, and perhaps a bit of democracy. He is showing the Iraqi citizens a strong but gentle face to the US Military. A face that I fell in love with. How can they not do the same?

So today, I am sad. I miss these two veterans who have had such a powerful impact in my life. Today I am humbled at the commitment both my father and Rich have made to serve this country, protect our freedoms, and strive to make the world a better, more just, more free place. But today I am also glad. I am glad to know these men like I do. I am honored that I can understand our country, our ideals, and even our hang-ups a bit more through these faces and the sides of the military they have shown me. And I am proud. I am proud of who these men are, what they have done, and what Rich continues to do. The legacy is a powerful one.

I was reminded of that legacy just last week as I went to DC for a conference. While there, I took some time to venture out on a solo "War Memorial Run" on the Mall. During my run, I made it a point to visit the various memorials and monuments that cluster that area. The better-known ones being: Vietnam, Korea, and now World War II. During my run, I did stop to soak in the monuments, to pay my respects, and to somehow honor those who have served throughout our history (at least our modern history). I was moved to tears at the WWII memorial. The memorial itself is impressive. But what got me most was watching the older generations come to the memorial with such reverence and pride. I saw veterans in their ball caps that marked which destroyer they were on or which platoon they were a part of roll down the ramp with their walkers. I saw husbands with their wives. I saw grandparents with their grandchildren. I saw fathers with their sons. I saw men and women who served attempt to remember and reflect on what the war meant to them. I saw these veterans attempt to pass on their experience and their emotion to the others with them. Little did they know that they were passing a part of that legacy on to me, a bystander, too. Yet I am also beginning to realize that I am not as much a bystander as I once thought I was.

I am part of the legacy. Through my father, through Rich, and through the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have served in our past and who are serving right now. It is through your faces that I have come to know my country better and even come to know a bit more of myself.

I miss you, Dad. I celebrate the Marine Corps birthday with you. Semper Fi! I miss you Rich. Happy Veterans' Day. You make me and countless others back home proud. Be good to somebody over there (as I know you will). I look forward to running (or walking, depending on our age) the monuments with you and doing our part to pass this legacy on.