WHAT IS A VETERAN?
 

It is the soldier, who has given us freedom  of the press.

It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

He is the cop on the beat, who spent six months in saudi arabia
Sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel
Carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber then five wooden planks,
Whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times
In the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near
The 38th parallel.

She or he is the nurse who fought against futility
And went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in DaNang

He is the pow, who went away one person and came back another,
Or who hasn't come back at all.

He is the parade riding legionnaire,
Who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster
Who watched the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in the tomb of the unknowns, whose Presence at the Arlington National Cemetery
Must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes, whose valor Dies unrecognized with them on the
Battlefield or in the oceans sunless deeps.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied
Now and aggravatingly slow, who helped liberate a nazi death camp
And who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the Nightmares come once more.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person, who
Offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his
Country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have
To sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier, a savior, a sword against the darkness, and he is
Nothing more then the finest, greatest testimony to and on behalf
Of the finest, greatest nation ever known. so remember, each time you see Someone who has served our country,
Just lean over and say "thank you".  that's all most people need,
And in most cases it will mean more than any medals that could have
Been awarded or were awarded.

~Author Unknown~