Many a mile were put on these
This morning when I got on the elevator at work I noticed one of my co-workers. Had I not known who he was I still would have been able to tell that he had been a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps just by the way he walked and carried his coffee cup. I have been told by veteran friends that I don’t walk anywhere—I march instead. As vets we can spot the veteran in the crowd by mannerisms that civilians cannot see, nor would they notice—they just do not have the frame of reference.
This past summer I attended a reunion of my old unit, Co. B 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division or as we call it, “BRAVO BEAST.” At first I was hesitant to go—I was not sure that after 24 years I would still have anything in common with the men I served with so long ago. Talking to them on Facebook is one thing; talking to them face to face is another thing entirely.
I did go and I took my son with me so that he could see Ft. Campbell and THE Air Assault School. Once we arrived my fears were put to rest. They were my brothers once again—it is a closeness that is difficult to describe and at times hard to comprehend.
We have all moved on in our lives, yet we have all stayed the same. Our platoon sergeant still made sure he ate after everyone else did, those of us who were NCOs all made sure everyone else ate before we did. We still laughed at the way our platoon sergeant would say, “It would behooooove you…” except this time we did it to his face and all, including him, laughed about it.
When I first got out of the Army I never really felt like I fit into the civilian world. This from someone who realized during the second week of basic training that he had made a horrible mistake signing up for four years. I was lucky, I got out without having to serve in combat, but the Army changed who I was and is a big part of who I am today. The saying, “You can take a man out of the Army, but you can never take the Army out of the man,” rings true.
I do not like to be thanked for my service; however, if my status as a veteran can be used to bring attention to the veterans who are struggling in the civilian world I will use it. In January of 2012 it was estimated that 633,782 veterans were homeless. We only have 1,429,995 Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors on active duty today. Think about that for a minute—that 633,782 are almost half of the number of people that are active duty military today.
You may not realize it but you see those 633,782 veterans every day. You don’t see them as veterans though. You see them as that unkempt guy sleeping in on a park bench. I know he is a vet because of the way he walks. You don’t see that woman picking through the trash for a meal as a vet, I do because of the way she stands. You don’t see that guy on the corner begging for money as a vet, I do because of the look in his eyes. A look that says he has seen horrors no man should ever see.
The two words "homeless" and "veteran" should never go together. This Veteran’s Day, instead of thanking a vet like me—do what you can to make sure a homeless vet is no longer without a home. If you are a vet and you are homeless or in danger of losing your home please call the VA’s National Call Center for Homeless Veterans 1-877-4AID-VET and get the help you deserve. None of my brothers and sisters should be homeless or hungry.