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Peace and the US Veteran
(February 27, 2010)
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“All we are saying is give peace a chance” – a classic line from a
John Lennon song.
The problem with peace is that it just does not work unless you have
the strength to defend your peace and the self control to not use
that strength to abuse other's peace. I believe that man will always
want more and if he can get it through non-violent, non-destructive
means he will in most cases be satisfied.
Cut off his pleasure and his toys and he will become agitated. Cut
off his needs, or more correctly his perceived needs, and he will
resort to violence on other men to get what he feels he must have.
You take away my cable TV and I am going to be mad. You take away my
food and water | |
Van E. Harl |
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and I will kill to get it back. I will kill even quicker if I think
you are trying to hurt my family. |
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And did you know that my feelings are not limited to white, northern
European descended, Christian Americans? Mess with anyone and the
basic fight or flight instinct will kick in. I assume there will
always be people out there in the world who will never like me and
my kind and I assume that some of those people will always view
aggression toward the US as an ongoing and unending process.
Other than the 911 attack the US has not suffered a massive man
made, deliberate destruction of American life since the Civil War.
We live very well and very safe in this country because of our
strength and desire for peace.
During my 52 years of close contact with the military I have met
many a young troop who could not wait to get into combat. Very
seldom have I ever had a conversation with a combat veteran who just
could not wait to get back to the fight, a veteran who truly enjoyed
the danger of close contact with death. Oh, I am sure there are a
few strange ones in our society who have some deep seated reason for
enjoying the destruction of war but they are not normal. Normal
veterans are those men and women who put on the uniform to defend
this country in its time of need but cannot wait to get home and be
a civilian again as soon as possible.
Recently in the media I have heard the question being asked of
different age groups, what they feel they owe their country. Sadly
many do not feel they owe anything. Now these are the same people
who will dial 911 and expect the entire safely net of our emergency
responders to be on-call 24 hours a day and at their door in less
than three minutes after a cry for help. Why do these people believe
they are entitled to so much expensive support from police, fire and
EMT responders?
Take it another step, why do these people feel they have a right to
the defense of their Nations, hometown, and personal home by
volunteers who put on the uniform of the US military, volunteer
soldiers who do give back to their country.
Literally as I was writing this column my mother phoned to tell me
my uncle had died. He was a WW II combat veteran who fought in
France and Germany. He served with very little fanfare, came home
and got on with his civilian life. Most people do not even know he
was in the Army. I know it though and on Veteran's Day he was one of
the WW II veterans on an ever shrinking list that I always called.
There are people who hate us and will always hate us. There will
never be a time when the United States does not need some type of
military force to defend and protect our way of life. And sadly
there will always be those in our society who just cannot see the
need to support and give back to this great nation.
I will be headed to Iowa from Colorado for a funeral, an American,
combat veteran's funeral. He was lucky he got to come home from his
war. We, as a country, were lucky he was willing to “give” back to
his nation. It is Veteran's Day, please thank a veteran for his or
her service, for their sacrifice and be thankful there are still
Americans who are willing to stand up and be counted to defend our
peaceful way of life. | |
By
Van E. Harl
Copyright
2007 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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