I am re-sharing last year’s blog post. What I shared then is true today. I am adding the following little addition….
Tuesday was a hard day for me. Probably the same for many of you though it may have been Monday or last Thursday for you. We all have them. Then MY veteran came in. Later than he has said he would be here, but I hadn’t noticed, because of my bad day. Then my day became great.
I will probably get the ‘evil eye’ from him for sharing this. For the last few months he has worked on a project. He noticed a neglected piece of artillery in a small, unadorned, unused park in our town. It bothered him that this ‘gun’ was being neglected. He did research. He has found some of the history on the gun. The small plaque indicated a group that is no longer around had last refurbished it in 1968. It was in a city park. He contacted the mayor. He took his research to the mayor. He spoke with the local American Legion about having it moved to the post’s yard and restoring it. The city agreed, as did the American Legion. He and members of the American Legion organized the extraction and the move. It still needed restoring. He and Steve (thank you Steve) cleaned the gun and removed the flaking paint. He wanted it finished by Veteran’s Day. Yesterday, in cold temps, brisk winds, hail and snow he and Steve got it painted.
To quote him, “I didn’t do it for the city. I didn’t do it for my self. I didn’t do it for the legion. I did it for the gun, the First Sargent (Chief of Smoke), and the troops that loaded it, cared for it, loved it and depended on it.”
He is proud that it has been moved to a place where it can be seen, appreciated and cared for. He doesn’t want kudos or recognition.
MY veteran is not any different from you, your veteran or many other of the countless veterans. They respect those that came before them and continue to come after them.
When you see in their eyes their dedication to our country; when I know that the man I love fought for some of the rights our country guarantees that had been at the source of my angst yesterday, how can the day stay bad?
To all Veterans and their families, thank YOU for your service.
CeCe