Veteran's Day

[gwydion]

To me supporting the troops means only putting them in harms way when the cause is worthy and the mission clear. It means giving them body armour, and well armored transports, and sufficient supplies. It means a good support system, access to quality medical and care when they come home, and real help adjusting and dealing with all the crap they have suffered in our name. It means psychiatric help where needed. It means prosecuting the people who rape their fellow soldiers instead of punishing the rape survivors as is the current policy. It means the GI Bill. It means excellent health benefits, job placement help, and COL increases for disabled vets and the families of our dead. It means not taking away the free medical care we promised them when they agreed to serve and kicking them out into the for profit insurance market as is the current Republican plan. It means fixing the wait times for health care and disability processing. It means considering every drop of blood valuable and every person who has served, will serve, and/or is serving now as people deserving of the best we can offer them in exchange for the sacrifices they make.

I think about WWI a lot on Veteran's Day. It's the war most people forget. It's the war that took my mother's Uncle Billy's leg and ruined his lungs. Such horrific carnage and sacrifice to no good purpose really. Rich old men of power sat far back from the lines and ordered wave after wave of young men to die horribly, and those men went. A generation of young men were ground to hamburger because the men making the decisions were using a hundred year old+ tactics in an era of machine guns, poison gas, and flame throwers.

People liken Iraq and Afghanistan to Vietnam, and I think of that too, but I also think of WWI. It seems like we've learned nothing from either one and I suspect we're going to learn nothing from these either. We send young women and men off to horror, and we still really can't say what it's for and the rich men in power begrudge the survivors every penny.

I honor those who've sacrificed, and at the same time I wish we'd stop demanding it frivolously and honor our debt to those who've served.

As always, on these occasions, I give you And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPFjToKuZQM

"" (Watch on YouTube)

* My Grandfather's Service: http://gwyd.livejournal.com/903361.html

Comments

[deepseasiren.livejournal.com]

What saddens me is the lack of coverage a lot of times for the troops of COLOR. Nowhere on tv did I see any black, Asian, Latino or Native veterans honored or interviewed. And it's kind of a disheartening thought when I tell people my uncle fought in World War II and some people think he was in the Imperial Forces of Japan.

One time, I got into a huge debate with a dude in my military history class when he made a comment that people of color weren't 'patriotic' enough. I said I thought that was an odd statement when you think about how they were treated particularly in the past with lynchings, open discrimination and the camps, and everything else, and yet many of them fought and died for what they believed in...which was America. If anything, I had said, that would be considered 'more' patriotic when a country treats you like shit and you still believe in its core values.

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

Native Americans serve at a much higher rate than their percentage in the population this despite the horrors we've visited on them. One of the men in the famous Iwa jima Flag raising photo was Native.

Japanese soldiers in WWII were known for being particularly brave and fierce, despite the terrible things our country was doing to them and their families.

Black soldiers from the time of the forming of Black units during the Civil War until integration after WWII were routinely given the most dangerous and least popular jobs while facing discrimination inside and outside the armed forces.

And yet they served and continue to serve with distinction. Looks pretty damned patriotic to me.

[deepseasiren.livejournal.com]

Yes, that was depicted in the Clint Eastwood movie Flags of our Fathers. What's sad is we have to have SEPERATE movies that depict the soldiers of valor like TUSKEGEE AIRMEN because that was never written about or shown in history books. Three of my uncles served in the 442nd, the all Japanese-American fighting regiment that came back the most highly-decorated soldiers in the entire US army.

Their lives seemed 'expendable' more than others as my uncle said the 442nd were also given the most dangerous assignments.

It's an area of study I always loved reading about though...and they did make a movie called GO FOR BROKE a long time ago about that 442nd.

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

Wow, I bet your Uncles are impressive!