What is a Vet.............
> >
> >
> >
> > 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 than 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 Da Nang.
> >
> > He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't
> > come back AT ALL.
> >
> > He is the Parris Island drill instructor who has never seen combat -
> > but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
> >
> > He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals
> > with a prosthetic hand.
> >
> > He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass
> > him by, but keeps the supply lines full.
> >
> > 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 anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on
> > the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
> >
> > 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.
> >
> > 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 and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is
> > nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony 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 they could have been awarded or
> > were awarded.
> >
> > Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU."
> >
> > It's the soldier, not the reporter, Who gave us our freedom of the
> > press.
> >
> > It's the soldier, not the poet, Who gave us our freedom of speech.
> >
> > It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who gave us our freedom to
> > demonstrate.
> >
> > It's the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves others with respect
> > for the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the
> > protester to burn the flag.
> > Prayer for our Servicemen
> > (Please send this on after a short prayer.)
> >
> > Lord, hold our troops in Your loving hands. Protect them as they
> > protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts
> > they perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of
> > Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
> > ------------
> > When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for
> > our ground troops in Afghanistan. There is nothing attached...
> >
> > Of all the gifts you could give a U.S. serviceman, prayer is the very
> > best one.
> >
