July the 4th Means Something More to Those Who Served
Independence Day truly belongs to all Americans, in some ways it belongs to the world, but in intimate ways, it belongs to men like my husband, who had to put their lives on the line, not metaphorically, but in actuality.
Tom served with a medical evac unit in Viet Nam. He was stationed at Quin Yan, located far north of Saigon and about due east of Pleiku. He told me he had no war stories to tell and the worst thing that ever happened to him was losing the brakes on his jeep. I knew from my father’s experience in World War II that you don’t press the issue when they don’t want to talk.
But occasionally, you get a glimpse of all that was going on. After taking a helicopter tour in Hawaii I glanced at Tom’s “comments” in the guest book. He complimented the pilot on a wonderful experience, but then added, “…nice to be in a chopper and not getting fire from the ground.”
Twenty years after Viet Nam, a young man, a stranger really, did something wonderful for my husband. Tom was an active participant and officer in the National Science Teachers’ Association. We were at a reception prior to the President’s banquet when a young science teacher sought Tom out to tell him how much he appreciated Tom’s presentation encouraging science teachers to pursue advanced degrees. The young man asked Tom how he had first started his Masters work and Tom said he had used his G. I. Bill after returning from overseas. There was a pause and then the young man just plunged into it.
“Where did you serve?”
“Viet Nam. I just did the basic tour of duty.”
The teacher held out his hand. “Now I respect you even more.”
I don’t have to tell any Viet Nam vet that those responses were few and far between!
I started noticing a change after that concerning the whole subject. While he still is not eager to discuss Viet Nam, Tom is less tentative, less guarded and more relaxed about a brief but important part of his life.
We, as a nation, seem to be more conscious of doing our mea culpas for the vile treatment given vets that came back from Viet Nam. That is as it should be, but the best thing we could do for our veterans is stop making so many of them! War is a wasteful and cruel endeavor, even when conducted for a righteous reason.
Still, you can’t let slavery persist, so you have a Civil War. You can’t allow Hitler to exterminate 6 million people, so you have World War II. When the enemy comes to you, as on December 7th and September 11th, you must respond with defensive strength. The unhappy truth is that evil is real and it will try to separate us from our better angels at every opportunity.
The 4th of July was a line in the sand for more than independence. It was a statement of purpose. If the purpose was incomplete and our progress toward it halting, it was still movement in the right direction. We continue to move forward. If anything, our failures have made us more resolute. More introspective. More confident of some distant victory. We have fought for the best that the 4th of July represents ever since. Some Americans have had to fight on a more personal basis than others. This is their day in a way that the rest of us cannot imagine.
Happy Fourth of July to all, but to the heroes and martyrs of freedom let me offer not a happy Fourth, but a grateful one.
I keep the faith.
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