[In honors of Veterans Day, this
week’s series has AmericanStudied veteran figures, histores, and stories.
Leading up to this crowd-sourced post on all things veterans and Veterans
Day—please share your own stories and connections in comments!]
On Twitter, Jennifer Dane writes, “This is one
of my areas of interest, especially around oral histories of LGBT troops during
DADT. I am one of those service members myself.” She adds, “A good, but tragic
book is Coming Out Under Fire.”
My friend, Guest
Poster, and state university colleague Roopika
Risam highlights “a great new DH
project from my colleague Andrew Darien,”
on Salem State University student veterans.
On Facebook, Kelley Smolinski
shares two perspectives. Her own: “Even with the
influx of films shining light on the mental and emotional sacrifices made by
veterans, there's a disconnect between people's response to those films and the
way we observe Veterans Day. Every year, kids pile into the gym and zone out
during Veterans Day assemblies and attendance at parades is limited. They
deserve more than that.” And that of her fiancée, Zachary Ryan Davis, a veteran
of the US army: “I'm very proud of my service and proud of those I served with.
They deserve to be honored. I'm always disappointed by the turn out for
Veterans Day festivities. And you can't even say it's because we don't like
parades. Look at anytime a sport team wins. It's a very powerful statement on
where we place our importance. It's a powerful statement on who we consider
heroes.”
Finally, an anonymous reader shares, “I want to share this story, because he never would. My step-dad,
‘Pop,’ was in the Marines in the 80s, and was sent all over the world as a
paratrooper and sharpshooter. In the early 80s, he was stationed at Camp
Lejeune in North Carolina. It has only recently been found that the water at Camp
Lejeune was filled with contaminants at that time,
including trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, vinyl chloride, benzene, and
other compounds. And only recently have links been found between the
contaminated water and eight diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease. He was
diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s when I was in high school, but it was
unknown that it was linked to Camp Lejeune until a few years ago. It was only
last year that the Department of Veteran Affairs confirmed his case of
Parkinson’s stems from his time in North Carolina and they have just assumed
responsibility. Ever since he was diagnosed, he has never once complained. Even
after learning he had the disease because of where he was stationed, he has
never once placed blame, gotten angry, or felt regret. He does not like to
discuss his illness, as he does not want sympathy from anyone. Despite the
hardships he faces every day, he is still proud of serving his country and
would not take back the time he spent as a Marine, even with knowing that it is
the reason he has Parkinson’s. Personally, that is unfathomable to me. His every
day life is a sacrifice. It has been a struggle for our family, but what helps
is his positive attitude. This is why Veteran’s Day is special to me. Though he
does not want the outward recognition (because to him, he merely feels he was
doing his duty to his country), I still honor him on that day. He is the most
respectable man I have ever met and I am so lucky to have had him as a ‘2nd
dad’ ever since he married my mom when I was 6 or 7. I have never met someone
who has such strength to make it through every day with a smile.
One thing I’d like to add is how I wish people stopped judging or
assuming things about each other. Pop has a hard time walking, and at my
youngest brother’s soccer banquet a few years ago, he was called up to the
podium and he stumbled on his way. There was one parent who said under his
breath, ‘It’s disgusting that he’s drunk at a high school soccer banquet…’ Now,
he can’t even drink due to his medication. Also, last summer, he and my mom
were at the beach on Cape Cod and were walking up to the car. He was walking a
little ahead of my mom, staggering and stumbling, and a man on a bicycle came
up behind my mom, looked at her, pointed at my step-dad, and said, ‘Wow, guess
all the weirdos are out today… stay away from that one.’ My mom was the bigger
person on both of these occasions and said nothing, though her emotions were
out of control. She said nothing, because he would never have wanted her to. He
does not want sympathy. He does not want recognition. He knows he served his country
and that’s all that matters to him. To me, it’s frustrating to know that people
jump to such horrible conclusions. He is a veteran. He served our country.
Personally, I wish the two men who made these comments knew the truth. Maybe
they would think twice before judging the next person. Maybe they would learn
to respect others more. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just still angry about these
two incidents. Regardless, Pop proves to be stronger and stronger every day,
even as the disease makes him weaker.”
Next series
starts Monday,
Ben
PS. What do you
think, or what would you add?
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