To all those who served and are now serving... Thank you for your service!
Saying Happy Veterans Day to me sounds most inappropriate! While a Federal Holiday and no mail or your bank is closed it is a day of reverence, respect, reflection and recompense.
We owe veterans for our freedom and for those in power today, I wonder if you understand that simple fact. Yet, after serving our country their service seems to be forgotten. Possibly it is a result that often government leaders never served.
The last four presidents did not see active military service yet were responsible for sending thousands of military personnel into harm's way. When you have been there and done that, it adds a whole new perspective to the decision process.
Yes, you are wondering about that last statement regarding US Presidents and military service.
Here is the list of 15 U.S. Presidents who have held the office without prior service in the military.
- John Adams
- John Quincy Adams
- Martin Van Buren
- Millard Fillmore
- Grover Cleveland
- William Howard Taft
- Woodrow Wilson
- Warren G. Harding
- Calvin Coolidge
- Herbert Hoover
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Bill Clinton
- Barack Obama
- Donald Trump
- Joe Biden
Two on that list served as wartime presidents and made the declaration of war (WWI and WWII). We seemed to prevail, but did they really understand what it is like to face the potential of death on a foreign soil?
Think about our veterans and how they are treated once they have served. It seems like veterans' benefits are an afterthought and just as likely to be zero balanced to offset perks to the super wealthy.
73's
Pete N6QW