19 Dec 2003, I was on a plane home to the United States of America from my duty assignment in Germany. I separated from the US Army with an honorable discharge realizing that I was entering a whole new chapter of my life. For the better part of the last 30 days I had spent countless hours and trips to and fro playing “signature bingo” and “insomnia proofing” (attending briefings) which is collectively known as the abstract activity called “out processing.”
That plane trip across the pond was a blur to me. I believe that I chatted with a young lady about overlaps in our music collections, pets and Harry Potter for the better part of six hours as I could hardly wait to get back to the US. My final destination was Columbus, Ohio and the airport there is relatively small. You may know it better as the kind of airport where you exit the aircraft descend down a set of movable stairs and walk across terra firma to the terminal building. I was back in the land of the free and the home of the brave again and I could not believe how many blessings I had yet to count.
We were in a post-911 world, so Chaya (my loving wife) was waiting for me near baggage pickup as greeting someone at the gate was no longer an option. I had been waiting for that kiss and hug from her for months!
That reunion was special because I was home for Christmas. The snow on the ground, the green lush conifers, the biting cold humidity of the Midwest—it was all so familiar and most welcome because prior to “out-processing” in Germany I was in Baghdad, Iraq.
Among the times in my life that were perhaps the hardest to endure, I would cite OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) as a threshold for a new level of difficult. What is down in the well certainly comes up in the bucket in good times. However in bad times that bucket goes down deeper and you really see what is on the inside of yourself. This level of self-discovery is only possible when you are stuck without contact via internet or reliable phone communication with loved ones, mail is slower than Christmas, food is pre-packaged and certainly not plentiful, water is hot enough at room temperature to cook Top Ramen® Noodles, the weather redefines any definition you ever knew of the word “hot” (~140° F in the shade) and the routine is monotonous to put it succinctly. But the people that I spent all those months with are to this day some of the best people I know. I take them with me as the souvenirs of military life. The deep level to which I admire their character is directly proportional to the harshness of the circumstances which revealed that character. These good friends to this day collectively make up “what I miss” when I think about the Army years.
Not all service members have to go to war, and so special decorations are awarded for those who do. Anyone who raises a right hand in oath is signing a blank check to our country. This check is payable up to (and possibly including) their life. The proper reciprocation for that transaction is respect. This bears repeating, but we shake their hand and say, “Thank you,” stand up and put your hand over your heart when the National Anthem plays or when the flag passes you in a parade, help out spouse or family member when their loved one is deployed, etc.
America is blessed with an all volunteer Armed Forces and today we honor all of them. The men and women of the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard serve (or have served) because they chose to do so on our behalf. We owe them respect for their sacrifice.
So to all of our veterans currently serving to include my cousin who just returned home from Iraq, to those who have been separated and are back in civvies as a permanent uniform—we salute you.
Pantry Paratus offers free shipping to all APO/FPO addresses not as a gimmick or a sale, rather as a permanent policy to say, “thank you.”
Wilson
Pro Deo et Patria