Dan Mouer in Vietnam in 1966. The magazine was sent by his wife, along with a batch of chocolate chi

Dan Mouer in Vietnam in 1966. The magazine was sent by his wife, along with a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Veterans Day was yesterday, November 11th.  World War I formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

I frequently take care of passengers who are veterans.  Some are more obvious than others, wearing caps from the Vietnam or Korean Wars, prompting me to thank them for their service, some read books related to war, which prompts me to ask them if they served.  The answer is usually yes, and again I thank them for their service.  They almost always want to tell me a little story or two about their time in the military, and if the flight is long enough, it becomes a real conversation.  Some passengers are disabled, and they frequently explain that the cause of their injury was the war.  Often, those veterans are younger men and women who have been in hostile situations much more recently than the sixties.

I’ve met various men who are veterans, both online and in person.  Some are still serving, in fact.  They struggle to deal with the enormity of the situation in which they’ve been placed.  But let Me be clear.  That doesn’t mean they’re weak, it means they’re human.  They have dreams and desires.  And burdens that some members of our society cannot begin to comprehend. 

Photo from article at:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/opinion/how-playboy-explains-vietnam.html