Sunrise in the Pacific Northwest

We remember those who served, lived through it to come home , those who served and didn't come home, those who came home broken physically and/or mentally, and those who came home and then took their lives from PTS syndrome. Veterans Day, as it is commonly called here in the USA , is a holiday for many celebrated or honored with parades or more solemn ceremonies.

My father served in WWII as a PFC in the army...drafted into service and spent most of his duty in France. My mom was left home , a young newly married wife to fen for herself as so many young wives did. She worked, wrote a letter every day to my Dad and neither one ever spoke much of those days. We had what they called a "shirt tail relative" named Johnny who lived in England with his wife Muriel. He was a tail gunner which was a very dangerous assignment. His wife Muriel was a nurse. For some reason, at one point during the war she came over to the United States and lived with my mom in Ohio. My folks visited both Johnny and Muriel in a London back in the early nineties. Actually all of my immediate family visited them at one time or another....including my son and his cousins. Johnny was elated with our visits and bragged to his neighbors how we were his family. Both Johnny and Muriel told us so many wartime stories about life in London during those times. Muriel told us about living through a bombing to look outside and see her neighbor's home destroyed with the man of the house sitting there naked in a bath tub...but alive. So rich were they both with those stories. My own dad spoke very little of his time in the war...only that he was the barber and he showed the movies too.

My folks, but especially my mom, was very upset when I protested very vocally and marched in D.C. against the Vietnam War (the American War it is called in Vietnam). However, years later my mom wrote me an apology saying far too many lives are lost in senseless wars and we were right to disagree with our governments policies.

Our country isn't very kind to returning Vets.....not just those from the Vietnam War but all the others. 99 Vets take their own lives each day here This is shameful and our country needs to provide far more help to returning Veterans. Our President Obama has called for much more suicide prevention and help for injured Vets both physically and mentally.
We need to get behind these efforts. To truly honor their service we need to provide them with jobs, food , housing, health care , education .....all these things. We need to do much more than just have parades and honor them one day a year.

We need to honor the peacemakers too...those who try to stop unnecessary wars before they start. Thankfully many people spoke out against military intervention in Syria...for this time we were heard.

My sunrise today is a tribute to all who have given their lives in one way or another to make our world a better place for all humanity....and to those who continue to do so...I thank you.