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Pick up the Phone and Call a Veteran
(March 1, 2010) |
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I was in Starkville, Mississippi on Memorial Day weekend, attending
the Eagles over Mississippi air show. I volunteer at the local Air
Force recruiting office, so I took along some Air Force recruiting
pamphlets. I figured I could pass them out to all the young women
and men I would surly see at the Air Show.
What I quickly found was a lot of "kids" there with their families,
but very few "recruitable-age" young people. What I saw the most of,
were older couples. My impression was that a large percent of these
"seniors" were veterans. They wore hats, tee shirts, pins and
military memorabilia that quietly declared they were veterans. What
I noticed was a lot of these "older" veterans who you might mistake
as WWII era "troops", were actual Korea and Vietnam veterans. | |
Van E. Harl |
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I was a little taken back, to find so many Vietnam veterans who
looked like my grandfather. We see so many movies and TV shows about
Vietnam and they always seem to portray that era of veterans as
"young". The truth is American service personnel were in Vietnam as
far back as the late 1950s. The Korean War is over 50 years in our
past. Our veterans are obviously getting older and every year; fewer
are showing up at air shows and "reunions". Only, to be mourned by
their comrades who are still with us.
In the middle of writing this article I had to stop and phone Lt.Col.
Floyd E. Smith. "Smitty" is a retired WWII, Korea and Vietnam, Air
Force Veteran. He is in his late 70's and he is the man who
convinced me to join the Air Force. I just wanted to make sure he
was O.K. "Smitty" was in the hospital this past Christmas and to
tell you the truth, the missing man formation I witnessed at
Starkville, kind of got to me. I also called four of my uncles who
served in WWII, one who served in Korea and a cousin who is retired,
WWII Royal Canadian Air Force.
Then I made a call to Major Anne Smith, USAF Ret. She was stationed
in Alaska with her join-spouse husband, Lt Col Lane Smith during the
same time; I was at Elmendorf, AFB. Lane retired on 20 years and was
dead from cancer inside of three years. It is not just the "elder"
veterans this country is losing.
I remember in 1963 when the USS Thresher (SSN-593), a US Navy
submarine, sank with the lost of 129 officers and men. As soon as he
heard of the sinking, my father (who is retired Navy) was on the
phone calling some of the wives, of the lost sailors he had known. I
was in grade school, but I still remember the look on my father's
face as he made those calls. He repeated these actions again in 1968
when the USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was lost.
My sister was at Arlington National cemetery a few years back and
took a picture of Major Audie Murphy's grave marker and sent it to
me. I was driving to school with my sister, when the news of Major
Murphy's death in a plane crash, came over the radio. He had died on
28 May 1971 (Memorial Day weekend). I can not explain it, but I sill
think of the man from time to time and I remember him not as a movie
actor, but as one of the most decorated American veterans of the 20
century.
One of the "old" veterans I did not call that day (because it was
Sunday and I only had his work phone number) was a retired Air Force
friend named Bob Day, of San Antonio. This I truly regret, because
he died in a plane crash this past summer. I strongly suggest we
young "veterans" pick up the telephone and called our "senior"
veterans. Better yet, put your uniform on and go visit a
retirement-home. I think you will be surprise how many veterans you
will find there. I guarantee you, they will enjoy seeing and talking
with you. A lot is owed to them and they will not be with us
forever. | |
By
Van E. Harl
Copyright
2003 About Author:
Major Van E. Harl, USAF Ret., was a career police officer in the U.S. Air
Force. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the
Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. Major Harl is a graduate of
the U.S. Army Infantry School, the Air Force Squadron Officer School and the Air
Command and Staff College. After retiring from the Air Force he was a state
police officer in Nevada.
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