Got this email from a buddy. Sort of makes it worth it to me.....

A Thank You to all Vietnam Vets from a Marine in Iraq

A guy gets time to think over here and I was thinking about all the
support we get from home. Sometimes it's overwhelming. We get care
packages at times faster than we can use them. There are boxes and
boxes of toiletries and snacks lining the center of every tent; the
generosity has been amazing. So, I was pondering the question: "Why do
we have so much support?"

In my opinion, it all came down to one thing: Vietnam Veterans. I
think we learned a lesson, as a nation, that no matter what, you have
to support the troops who are on the line, who are risking everything.
We treated them so poorly back then. When they returned was even
worse. The stories are nightmarish of what our returning warriors were
subjected to. It is a national scar, a blemish on our country, an
embarrassment to all of us.

After Vietnam , it had time to sink in. The guilt in our collective
consciousness grew. It shamed us. However, we learned from our
mistake. Somewhere during the late 1970's and on into the 80's, we
realized that we can't treat our warriors that way. So ... starting
during the Gulf War, when the first real opportunity arose to stand up
and support the troops, we did. We did it to support our friends and
family going off to war. But we also did it to right the wrongs from
the Vietnam era. We treat our troops of today like the heroes they
were, and are, acknowledge and celebrate their sacrifice, and rejoice
at their homecoming ... instead of spitting on them.

And that support continues today for those of us in Iraq . Our country
knows that it must support us and it does. The lesson was learned in
Vietnam and we are all better because of it.

Everyone who has gone before is a hero. They are celebrated in my
heart. I think admirably of all those who have gone before me. From
those who fought to establish this country in the late 1770's to those
I serve with here in Iraq . They have all sacrificed to ensure our
freedom. But when I get back home, I'm going to make it a personal
mission to specifically thank every Vietnam Vet I encounter for THEIR
sacrifice. Because if nothing else good came from that terrible war,
one thing did. It was the lesson learned on how we treat our warriors.
We as a country learned from our mistake and now we treat our warriors
as heroes, as we should have all along. I am the beneficiary of their
sacrifice. Not only for the freedom they, like veterans from other
wars, ensured, but for how well our country now treats my fellow
Marines and I. We are the beneficiaries of their sacrifice.

Semper Fidelis,

Major Brian P. Bresnahan
United States Marine Corps

Coming from anyone else, commendable. Coming from a Marine in the United States Corp, serving in a War we have no more business being in, than Viet Nam. Celebrating the soldiers who have only ever done their patriotic duty, to preserve our freedoms here at home. Well, not only did it choke me up a bit, it brought about a welled-up sense of pride, that we, as a people, CAN admit to our past mistakes, and do whatever is in our own powers, to make sure that they NEVER happen again. THANK YOU, TO ALL WHO SERVE(D)! GOD BLESS YOU!!!
RIDE FREE because of them, AMERICA!
Tweek

Lord forgive me,yet I am Proud to be an American,and I will never back down about that.It is young men like the Major who epitomize the very qualitys we are trying to instill in all our fellow contrymen,a sense of pride a feeling of being part of something bigger,the ability to recognize the sacrifices made by others who went before them and to acknowledge it.God Bless this country which has produced such noble spirits,may he watch over and protect them all !!!
stay safe n enjoy the ride !!!

Thanx............

   

It makes me proud when I'm out on a ride or anywhere where I might be wearing my leather vest with my Viet Nam Vet patches on it, and a young person comes up to me and tells me thanks for my service. I do think the message is getting around, slowly but getting there. That was such a wonderful and touching e-mail from the Major, thank you sir for what you are doing for out Nation.
God Bless America
Dragon
Viet Nam vet 70-71

a beautifully written letter -

Respect to all those that leave their family, their children and spouses, their friends and their life to put everything on the line for their country. it is irrelevent if you believe in what the fight is about, they have made a great sacrafice, sometimes with their lives to protect and honor what we sitting on our comfy couch drinking our cold beer seem to take for granted....we must all be dillegent in teaching this respect to the next generation, who will never understand the wars that happened before their time, It is up to us as americans and as humans to ensure that each new generation carry this respect with them. no man or woman should come home to ridicule and harsh words,EVER. I respect any soldier of any war for what they have done for me, never be ashamed, and know that you are appriciated.

Great Post and A great response from all. Nothing I can add to that except "THANKS "