"This is for Veterans"

"You went, some because you had to, some because you thought you should. You put up with deprivations, sorry pay, long separations, monotonous food, in a land no one ever heard of, a place no one would ever want to go.

You got a few moments of recreation watching TV with twenty other guys, a show that you would have never watched back at home but now it reminds you of life in the real world or maybe that ping pong table you share with a thousand others. You sleep in a room filled with men who snored, groaned and talked in their sleep. You were awakened thru the night with guys getting up or coming to bed, guys who whisper at a loud roar. You tried to shave by sharing a mirror with ten other guys. You suffered the indignity of noncoms and 2LTs who shouldn’t be trusted to watch a mangy dog much less a squad of men. You ate the tasteless spaghetti for the umpteen time while you remembered your moms' excellent sauce.....

...You wish you had one lousy Hershey’s bar but some jackass bought every one and has them hidden in his locker. Oh yeah everything you own is in that metal box that’s smaller than one closet at home.

Nobody wants you around, no civilian here or civilian overseas, because you might smile at their daughter. For sure you are drunk and will make a pass at some woman or start a fight, (You enlisted men have a place to go, down by the pier or airport where you won’t bother good people.) Of course if there is a hot zone in the news the civilians expect you to go running toward it, after all that’s what you get paid for.

Well buck up me hearties, you got a life education money can’t buy. You found out what the rest of the world is like. The poverty, even of first world Europe where few ever escape the class thy were born in. Where entire families live in two rooms with the bath down the hall shared with five other families. Or even worse the third world where desperate people beg on the streets. Men with machine gun are on every corner because there is a new dictator this week. Where the courts decide by who has paid the biggest bribe. Where you have to ask what meat is in that sandwich or maybe not ask because it’s the only food around and knowing will spoil your appetite. You learned so your wife and children and neighbors won’t have to know what its like.

You’ve joined a long line from Valley Forge to to Afghanistan. We remember you. We call you brothers. Welcome Home...."

Thanks for your service , Brother!

On my helmet, I had the legend "For those who have fought for it, Life has a flavor the protected never taste!'

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

Eagles Up! Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

What's the most lethal weapon in the US Army?

A 2nd Lieutenant and a map.

...from a former butterbar.

A 2LT has his platoon hopelessly lost on a night patrol. In frustration, he keys his mike and shouts, "I'm F---ING LOST!!!"

Overhearing the transmission, the Brigade Commander barks into his microphone, "This is the Brigade Commander! Whoever made that last transmission, identify yourself!"

Having regained his senses, the LT replies, "I may be F---ING lost, but I'm not F---ing stupid!"

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