Today is Veteran's day.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1407952648?bctid=1664436922

I've had the honor of hauling the wounded from when they get back stateside to the nearest medical facility of the individuals home.

Emotionally for me it was by far the toughest mission I've had to do but at the same time the most rewarding.


For those who don't know why Nov 11 is Veteran's day heres why.

At 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the Great War, the War to end all wars, WWI ended.

Darn sweet video. Why can't we have videos like that online, nice and crisp.
My mom brought me back a T-shirt today from SC, it has a big check on it stating the price for freedom....

I love going to museums and monuments because they seem to call out to me from days gone by. I have never served in the Armed Forces but sometimes I almost wish the draft had been in effect so I would have gone. I had the opportunity when my kids were still very young but my now ex-wife would hear nothing of it. I was going to join the Army and fly choppers since I had some flight experience but no college.

When I go to Washington DC and visit the Smithsonian Air & Space center it strikes me at how every single military aircraft represents hundreds or maybe even thousands of people who served both as pilots and the crews who kept them flying.

When I have visited the various other memorials, especially the Vietnam Wall of Names, where you see so much outpouring of emotion as you see your own reflection and others while the names look back at you. The Korean memorial is equally haunting as the statues of the soldiers slogging through the rice patty reflect on the stone wall emblazoned with so many images from every branch of service.

Fort Lee is very close by to my home so I see young men and women around town constantly and I am always so struck at how incredibly young they are. My own children are in their mid to late 20s which makes the contrast all the more hard to swallow. Yet at the same time I am filled with pride when I see them. Young they might be but their eyes and faces are full of a sense of purpose and duty. I know that every single one of them volunteered for this service and I know that they are bright and well trained. I may not always agree with the politics that send these fine young soldiers into harms way, but I have no doubt that they will deliver their best and make us proud. It is hard to fathom how they could not.

So if it be a monument or a vintage aircraft, or simply names on a wall, know in your hearts that every last one of them was someones son or daughter, spouse or friend, dearest love or soulmate...and that their sacrifice, be it the full measure of devotion or this space of time that they gave for country first before themselves,let us remember them with honor and let this country give back to them as richly as they have given to us.

God Bless these fine souls every one...for without them Ole Glory would not continue to fly over this great land.