Veteran’s Day isn’t to be a memory, but a day to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives and livelihood. We may not set aside the memories and respect we expressed only days ago. The gestures may remain silent for another year, but they remain in our hearts.
As we step ahead in time, we look at this day November 13, 2020, as we remember another milestone in history. We look upon this day as a day when veterans of one era finally receive the respect they deserve. They receive the respect that for more than a decade was silenced, by a narrow-minded view, that certain men and women didn’t deserve respect because they fought an unpopular war.
istockIt is on this day in 1982 that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated. The “Wall” as people commonly refer to it has become an icon. The black granite “v” shaped wall is a symbol of love and loss, war and peace, and the unending cycle of war. The Memorial is inscribed with 57,939 names of those who never came home from Vietnam.
The “Wall” has become a gateway to forgiveness. It is a place where the protesters and defenders meet and remember a time of turmoil that separated a people who before the war were friends. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a place that offered the initial healing. It is one of the most visited memorials in the nation’s capital.
I will take a moment today to remember not only the sacrifice our military endured in Vietnam but the humiliation people subjected them to when they returned home. I salute each of you today; those who look upon the names on the Memorial, and those whose names are inscribed within the black granite. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. My heart goes out to you who suffered in silence. I wish peace for you in your lives.Fair Use Notice: This article could contain some copyrighted material whose use has not been authorized by the copyright owners. We believe that this not-for-profit, educational, and/or criticism or commentary use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Fair Use notwithstanding we will immediately comply with any copyright owner who wants their material removed or modified, wants us to link to their web site, or wants us to add their photo.
Did you know September is National Suicide Prevention Month? There is much focus on suicide in recent months. Any life lost is terrible, and the announcement that David Buckel, Kate Spade, and Jon Paul Steuer took their lives was sad, each announcement brought more attention to the epidemic.
Suicide is a national problem that affects communities and families. It also affects our military in a major way. If we look at the statistics of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, they report 20 veterans who commit suicide each day. Veterans’ suicides make up 18% of suicide deaths.
If you look at a research report in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings journal, you’ll read that Army suicides increased 80% from 2004 to 2008. The Army is not the only branch of the military affected by suicide. In a recent US Veterans Magazine article, they quoted Dr. Gerstenhaber to have said, “The suicide rate for our veterans and active duty is around 50% higher than for their civilian counterparts, showing what a serious issue we have on our hands.” They quoted him as also having said, “This group of people have a tremendous amount of stress, and they need to know it’s not a sign of weakness to seek help. We have programs in place that have been successful in helping to reduce the suicide rates, and we want to expand those to help others around the nation.”
Dr. Gerstenhaber works with the EOD Warrior Foundation to address the need to reduce suicide rates. Together they continue to study and work closely with families affected by suicide. They established the EOD Warrior Foundation (through a merger of the EOD Memorial Foundation and the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation) on March 1, 2013. They work to assist the community of Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) technicians. This organization is just one of many working with our veterans to assist our military to eradicate suicide.
We live in a time not so different from our forefathers. The one advantage we have is an openness and acceptance within our communities. We have developed programs to assist those in need. We have taken the time to devote to studies and statistics. Now we have to band together to offer our veterans a hand up (versus a handout). We need to learn to recognize the early signs of suicide and support those that cry out silently for help.
We may not hear their silent cries, but we can learn to recognize the signs and reach out to those that give so much of themselves to their country. We owe it to them, their families, and our country.
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It seems like everyday I hear a story of child abduction. Or hear that another group of children were found and rescued.
My heart breaks when I hear that human trafficking continues to be big business. Our children are our greatest resource. That statement doesn’t mean that they should be for sale.
They should be loved, educated and kept safe. They should be offered every opportunity to thrive and grow so that they will know the joy of living as free human beings. Everyone deserves that.
But where have the children gone? Who has taken them? What will become of them? Will they ever be rescued?
I wrote a book in 2018, Usher of Truth. The book is a sequel to the first book I wrote, War Within, which talks about how our government kidnapped people during the 1960s and experimented on them. Their goal; mind control.
Well, in the sequel I portrayed a scene where a child was kidnapped for that purpose. He was quickly taken away to an underground base. It was a base that had been closed and posted, so no one would have suspected a thing.
The book is fiction. When I wrote the scene I had no idea that such a thing could happen. Well, for today I will leave you with the image. One that I haven’t created a visual for here in this post, for a reason. I’m afraid that, over time we will all see the reality of such evil. We will be required to witness and understand what happened so it doesn’t happen again.
I will continue to visit this topic and share small pieces of what I fear is a reality. I’m hoping what I say is my over active imagination getting the best of me, or preparing my mind to write another book.
I would ask you all one thing, in case. Pray for the little ones. Pray for the children, and pray for those that will rescue them. They too will need prayers for what they will see will never be forgotten. God bless the protectors.
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The War Within was supposed to be a a romance novel. I started writing the novel and found the more I wrote, the more research I needed to do, to make sure I was being accurate in my portrayal of time.
What started out as a romance, ended being what I consider historical fiction with a twist of suspense. That’s quite a leap. Why you say?
Well, the more research I did, the more I kept running into terms like MK Ultra and Operation Paperclip. When I looked at the riots that occurred, I began to wonder if the CIA had anything to do with behavior that prior to the sixties was unheard of. So I dug deeper.
Katherine was a new mother who’s husband died in Vietnam. Death is a life changing event, one that sent Katherine back to work at the local University . Where she stumbled upon the program that we know as MK-ULTRA.
The Church Commission supposedly investigated programs such as MK-Ultra and Operation Mockingbird. In the end the people were lied to and told such programs were no longer operational. I think we know different. Or do we?
The War Within is not only the struggle for mankind to survive the scourges of war, but it also looks at the inner struggle we all face when we realize the ravages of evil really do exist in the dark recesses of space and time.
I continue to research the topic of MKULTRA and other programs that I’ve been told are conspiracy theories. When you read The War Within you can decide.
Well, the more research I did, the more I kept running into terms like MK Ultra and Operation Paperclip. When I looked at the riots that occurred, I began to wonder if the CIA had anything to do with behavior that prior to the sixties was unheard of. So I dug deeper.