Like many veterans, I belong to the American Legion post in my hometown. Most Legion posts are similar. We have fish fries on Friday nights, Bingo on Wednesday, barbecues in the summer, country music on the jukebox, and there’s a faint odor of stale beer, cigarettes and popcorn in the hospitality room.
When Legionnaires remove their trinket-covered caps, there’s a lot of gray hair showing – that is, if there’s any hair showing at all. We play taps far too often these days for our comrades from World War II, and Korean War vets are also decreasing in numbers. Vietnam era vets are retiring – we know we are next for taps.
Give most vets half-a-chance and they will share their military experiences with others, but there are a few vets who don’t share their military experiences with anyone. They may quietly sit alone in a corner or at the end of the bar, not really talking much. Some do mingle and socialize, but when the subject turns to war memories they quietly withdraw.
One of my dearest friends served in Vietnam. I served during the war, but he served in the war – there is a big difference. I have good memories about my military experience, memories I enjoy sharing, but he has memories about his military experience he would give anything to forget. As close as we are, he has never shared them with me.
Everyone who fought for their country was wounded in some way, whether physically, spiritually or emotionally. I’ve seen the entry and exit wound scares on my friend’s stomach and back, and as painful as those wounds were, the most painful wounds he suffered in Vietnam left scars on his soul, and try as he might he cannot drink them away.
Legion and VFW posts are not elegant country clubs where prospects need pull, position and power to become members, and unlike country clubs, wealth is not an eligibility requirement. Yet for many of our veterans, the price they paid for Legion and VFW membership was terribly high.
Regardless of which era they come from, which war they served during or in, or which uniform they wore, our veterans deserve our heartfelt thanks.
