# Next time you see a Veteran...



## chiffonade (Nov 29, 2001)

Thank him.
Thank her.
Shake a Vet's hand. You owe them a lot.

In America, we can live safely because our vets worked to keep us free; some making the ultimate sacrifice. Our kids can wear whatever they want, dye their hair purple and pursue whatever career jazzes them. We can practice whatever religion we want - without government intervention. We fought for those freedoms and we should cherish them. 

In some nations, a woman can't get a divorce without permission; women who have extramarital affairs are stoned in the town square. Women can't show their faces or have an opinion or be educated. Women's bodies are being mutilated in the interest of keeping them "faithful." Barbarism is alive and well and the accepted norm in some countries. Americans don't know how lucky we are.

Give the flag the respect it deserves. Revere it.

In this time where people who hate freedom blow up buildings using live people as missiles, our vets are working to contain the insanity before it gets too far. This may not be the perfect country but it comes damned close. And you have vets to thank.


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## the saucy cajun (Apr 1, 2002)

Well said Chiffonade! I've lived out of the country where it was illegal to wear a miniskirt!
The Saucy Cajun


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## jill reichow (Mar 12, 2001)

Thank you from the wife of a 20 year career AF officer.


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## jock (Dec 4, 2001)

I agree wholeheartedly. I travel quite a lot and have in the past spent some time in the merchant marine. So, I've seen many places that don't enjoy the freedoms we take for granted. 
That's not to say the good old US of A is the only place to enjoy such freedoms. My own country of birth (Britain) has pretty much the same free culture as we do here. And apart from that little tiff we had back in 1776, wherever Americans have been fighting on foreign soil to protect our freedom, there has been a British (and probably Canadian and Austrailian) soldier alongside him.

Jock


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

My father-in-law was an army doctor who came ashore at Normandy on D-day plus a few days. He was also at the Battle of the Bulge. I can't imagine (even after seeing "Saving Private Ryan") what he went through. My uncle was a tail-gunner based in Britain; somehow he made it home unscathed, but not untouched. My brother served during Vietnam, based stateside. Each did his part. 

To all veterans, THANK YOU from a grateful American!


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## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

I was in the grocery store one morning picking up a few things and went to the check-out register. In front of me was an elderly couple, the husband doting on his wife of obviously many years. He seemed kind and gentle. He was talking to the checker about seeing his grand kids,or maybe it was great grand kids. As he was paying I noticed his well worn baseball cap and was so moved that I was compelled to say something to a complete stranger. "Wow, I said. That has to be THE most expensive hat I have ever seen. " The old man thanked me and shook my hand. I felt good just knowing that I had acknowleged his great contribution to us all. What was so special about that hat? On the front it gave his unit number and the words -Iwo Jima, 1945.


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

Well said all of you , without our brave military men & women this world would be a much different place . It is very easy for us here in America to take our way of life for granted but I think 9 / 11 woke us up to how special our freedom is and how fortunate we are to have a strong military to defend us from those who would try to take our freedom away from us . Thanks to all our soldiers and veterans who preserve our way of life . Doug


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

I am delighted to have come here to find this thread. My computer expired, so I haven't been online much lately. Our veterans are one of the riches of our country, and it seems that I have been thinking a lot about them lately. God bless our veterans. We owe them everything.


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Hello friends. While we are on the subject of vets, I am requesting that everyone remember one of our shy members - Wolfgang4711 in prayer today and in the days to come. He is now in surgery for an aneurism of the iliac artery that has grown to involve the aorta. Ron is a bleeder, which makes this surgery even more serious. He will be hospitalized for two weeks, several days of which will be spent in a coma and on a breathing machine. He will then be moved to an extended care facility for three weeks. He is a kind and wonderful man who my entire family has come to love. When he is well again, I am hoping to get him to communicate in cheftalk. He is a wonderful cook, and very determined not to let his physical problems rule his life. May his light shine with us for many years to come.


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## chiffonade (Nov 29, 2001)

I'm flinging every bit of good vibe I can in Wolfgang's direction. Hope he pulls through the surgery and has a swift recovery surrounded by people who care.


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