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May you thing a little.
- May I Salute You? by Patricia Salwei
- I approached the entrance to Ft Belvoir's medical facility last
year as an
- old veteran puttered towards me. Easily over 80 years old,
stooped and
- slow, I barely gave him a second glance because on his heels was a
full
- bird colonel. As they approached, I rendered a sharp salute and
barked,
- "Good morning, Sir!" Because they were heel to toe, I
began my salute as
- the old veteran was about two paces from me. He immediately came
to life!
- Transformed by my greeting, he rose to his full height, returned
my salute
- with pride, and exclaimed, "Good morning captain!" I
was startled, but
- the full bird behind him was flabbergasted. The colonel stopped
- mid-salute, smiled at me and quietly moved on. As I
entered the clinic,
- the utter beauty of the encounter reoccupied me. What
prompted the old
- man to assume that I was saluting him? Perhaps he just thought,
"It's
- about time!" After all, doesn't a WWII vet outrank us
all?
- I turned my attention to the waiting room taking a moment to
survey the
- veterans there. Service people rushed around, loudspeakers
blared, the
- bell for the prescription window kept ringing. It was a
whirl of
- activity and the older veterans sat quietly on the outside seemingly
out
- of step, patiently waiting to be seen. Nobody was
seeing.
- My old friend stayed on my mind. I began to pay attention to the
- military's attitude towards its veterans.
Predominately, I witnessed
- indifference: Impatient soldiers and airmen plowing over little
old
- ladies at the commissary; I noticed my own agitation as an older
couple
- cornered me at the Officer's Club and began reminiscing about
their tour
- in Germany. To our disgrace, I have also witnessed
disdain: At Ramstein
- AB terminal, an airman was condescending and borderline cruel with a
deaf
- veteran flying Space A; an ancient woman wearing a WACS button
was
- shoved aside by a cadet at the Women's Memorial dedication in
D.C; a
- member of the Color Guard turned away in disgust from a drunk
Vietnam
- vet trying to talk to him before the Veterans' Day Ceremony at
the
- Vietnam Wall. Have you been to a ceremony at the
Wall lately? How about
- a Veteran's Day Parade in a small town? The crowds are
growing faint.
- Why do we expect the general public to care if we don't? We are
- getting comfortable again. Not many of us around that have been
forced to
- consider making the ultimate sacrifice. Roughly 60% of today's
active duty
- Air Force did not even participate in Desert Storm. I always
lament about
- the public's disregard for the military. I do not count all the
days I
- stayed in bed instead of going to a ceremony or parade. It was
my day to
- be honored and I deserved to sleep in. It's just like a
28-year-old,
- whose weapon was "Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Presentation"
during the last
- conflict, to complain about recognition.
- Sometimes I wonder who is going to come to our parades in 20 years;
will
- anybody look me up in the Women's Memorial Registry? The
answer lies in
- the present. We will be honored as we honor those who have
gone before
- us. The next generation is watching.
- It is not my intention to minimize the selfless service of our modern
- military; my comrades are the greatest people I know (and frankly
should
- be treated better.) But, lately I'm wondering if the public's
attitude
- towards the military isn't just a reflection of the active duty
military's
- attitude towards its own veterans. It's time to ask - do we
regard them,
- do we consider them at all? How does our attitude change
when the hero
- is no longer wearing a uniform?
- I was proud to wear my uniform. Can I admit that I thought
I was cool?
- There is no denying that there is something about our profession,
combined
- with youth, that feeds the ego a little. We have all seen a
young pilot
- strut into the Officer's Club with his flight suit on. He
matters; he
- takes on the room; he knows he can take on the
world. But, one day he
- will leave his jet for a desk, and eventually he will have to hang up
that
- flight suit. A superhero hanging up his cape. How will we
measure
- his value then? He will no longer look like a pilot, an
officer, a
- colonel. He'll just look like an old man coming out of the
clinic with
- his prescription. But, is he less of a hero? Will anybody
remember or
- care about all the months he spent away from his newborn
daughter while
- making peace a possibility in the Balkans? Probably not.
Our society has
- a short memory. Maybe it is not for the protected to
understand.
- Rather, it is my hope that when a young lieutenant walks by him
they will
- each see themselves reflected in the other - one's future,
the other's
- past. In that moment, perhaps, the lieutenant will
also see the hero,
- now disguised as an old man, and thank him. The truth is there
are
- heroes in disguise everywhere. I used to wonder why people would
want
- to chat with me when I was in uniform - telling me about their
four
- years as a radio operator in Korea. So what? I wasn't
impressed relative
- to my own experiences. Now I understand that they were telling
me because
- nobody else cared. Proud of their service, no matter how
limited, and
- still in love with our country, they were trying to stay
connected. Their
- stories were code for: "I understand and appreciate
you, can you
- appreciate me?" The answer is, yes.
- I separated from the Air Force in February. I'm out of the
club. Still,
- I want you to know that I'll attend the parades, visit the
memorials, and
- honor you. All this while my kids and your kids are
watching. Then,
- maybe, someday when I'm an old woman riding the metro, a young airman
will
- take a moment of her time to listen to one of my war stories. I,
in turn,
- will soak in her beauty and strength, and remember.
- Today as I reflect on my adventures in the Air Force, I'm thinking of
that
- ancient warrior I collided with at Ft Belvoir. I'm
wondering where he is,
- if he's still alive, if it's too late to thank him.
I want to start a
- campaign in his honor - Salute A Veteran. What a great world
this would
- be if all our elderly veterans wore recognition pins, and we would
salute
- them even if we were out of uniform and saw them coming out of a Seven
- Eleven. Yes, this started out as a misunderstanding on my
part. But,
- now I get it.
- That day was the first time in my life that I really understood what
it
- meant to salute someone. Dear Veteran, I recognize and
hail you! I do
- understand what I have and what you have given to make it possible.
- So I'm wondering if we meet on the street again - may I salute
you?
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