When I was younger, I didn’t realize the full meaning of Veteran’s Day. Yeah, I knew what it was all about. I knew the reason for it. But, despite having a father who was a veteran of the Vietnam War, I was still in the dark as far as the meaning of Veteran’s Day to actual veterans as well as the active military.
But over time, especially considering the events of the past ten years, I’ve grown to understand more fully the effect of Veteran’s Day. But for me, it was never more understood than when I began to meet some of the veterans face-to-face.
Though my experience was not golf-related, being in the golf-blogging world, I have gotten to learn about several of the charitable organizations related to veterans. Organizations such as Wounded Warriors Project as well as the golf-related Bunkers in Baghdad have given inspiration, help and hope to both wounded veterans as well as the active military still hard at work overseas.
Though I’ve gained some understanding of the meaning of these organizations to the veterans themselves by reading many of the comments from both the organizers and veterans alike, you can’t quite get the full effect unless you hear it directly from the horse’s mouth.
I was fortunate enough to gain this perspective a month ago while assisting my wife at a local fair. Setting up a booth to help raise money for her Wear Red Fridays campaign, I had the opportunity to meet many veterans, as well as their friends and family, who stopped by the booth either to purchase a t-shirt, donate money or just give thanks for the support. It’s from the veterans and active military that you can really understand what the support of others means to them.
So this Veteran’s Day, keep in mind the reason this holiday exists in the first place. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems more like a reason for a car dealership to promote a “sale.” But if you take a minute to speak to one of our brave servicemen or women, you will gain a better understanding of the appreciation they have for the support of the people for whom they are serving.
Swing ’til you’re happy!
A Memorable Round…
I could never forget this one round of golf I played with a friend and his dad who served in Vietnam. Memorial Day is just around the corner and every year around this time I always reflect back on the stories he shared. For most veterans that served and saw action in any war, I’m pretty sure revisiting the past and relaying what they saw is or was rather difficult.
We arrived at the course, paid our fees and headed out to the first tee. As we were making our way, I noticed my friend’s dad staring at the starter’s tattoo on his arm. Turns out the starter, who was about fifteen years older than my buddie’s father, served in the same branch as he did. They were both 101st Airborne Army Rangers and had similar tat’s.
I knew my friend’s father was a Ranger and served in Vietnam but, now seemed like a good time to slide in a few curious questions about the war. Seeing that it was a fresh topic and all. Let me tell you, I’m glad I did and at the same time wished I never did. We made our way around the front nine and he told us about the basic stuff of Vietnam like where he was stationed and the pranks they pulled on each other but always seemed to avoid the gritty and gorey parts we saw on TV.
I then ask the question that will resonate in my head forever…”How close were the movies to the real thing?”. In my defense, I was about 23 or 24 years old and not quite as bright as I should have been. So, I find out he was one of the only survivors of his platoon and to this day still has some pretty big battle scars and shrapnel scars on his body.
I will not go into detail about what exactly was told to me out of respect for my friend’s father but, I will say one thing. Towards the end of our discussion he told us, “When you are in a tough situation and you feel like quitting or complaining, just think how worse things could be, you could be ducking bullets or fighting to live. Think of me, get your shit together and push through…”
My final score of 105 didn’t matter, the fact that I lost 8 balls didn’t matter, even the club that I broke didn’t bother me anymore. This was something bigger. To my friend’s dad and to all that have served, thank you!