‘Thank you’ is never enough

by Sean Pearson

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Thomas Jefferson

Today we honor our veterans. Every year, it becomes more and more of a challenge to write something touching and soul stirring about Veteran’s Day.
It’s not for lack of inspiration.
These people serving our country are our family members, our neighbors and the many strangers we pass each day in the course of our busy lives. They are the kids who stood in front of Safeway selling raffle tickets for eighth-grade trips to Washington, D.C.; the Girl Scouts who came door-to-door selling cookies; the students we watched play football in high school. They are people who risk their lives every day to preserve the liberties we, as Americans, cherish. With dignity, self-sacrifice and determination, they give of themselves without question when our nation calls.
These men and women give their all during battle, and while some don’t make it home alive from the battlefield, those who have were often changed in ways only people who have engaged in the horrors of war can understand.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur described America’s citizen-soldier as “one of the world’s noblest figures.”
Anonymity is no exception.
Perhaps one of the best examples of commitment and honor for those who have fallen in battle is the guarding of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, since 1930. And just getting on as a guard of the tomb is no small feat.
In order to be considered for the position, guards must commit two years of life to guarding the tomb and live in a barracks under it. They cannot drink any alcohol, on or off duty, or swear in public for the rest of their lives. Each guard spends at least five hours per day getting his or her uniform ready for guard duty, and during the first six months of duty, a guard cannot talk to anyone or watch TV. All off-duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, where guards must memorize who they are and where they are interred. 
Military personnel assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during Hurricane Isabel in 2003 were given permission to suspend the assignment. Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, the guards respectfully declined the offer, saying that guarding the tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded a service person.
Our veterans are true American heroes whose contributions deserve our gratitude more than just one designated day per year. The true meaning of this day is for the rest of us; those who have never had to bear arms in defense of this country – to be present and give thanks to those who have.
With the Iraq war heading into its seventh year, news coverage, as well as the general overall feeling of gratitude and indebtedness to our soldiers, has waned considerably.
On this day, I hope we all consider the price of freedom, the feelings and challenges of those returning home from war and the safety and well-being of those still engaged in conflict.
Without America’s war veterans, none of us would be free today. The veterans that this day honors have earned every iota of my respect. I am thankful for our freedom, which clearly has not been free. Good people have died and suffered so I can sit here typing on my laptop from my couch.
Despite the current trend away from patriotism, we still have men and women serving overseas who need our support. And while it may seem politically incorrect right now, be proud you are an American and honor the men and women who fought to give you that freedom.
I love this country. I love this freedom.

“It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it.”
George Washington