Back in the day (younger readers will refer to this era as “pre-history”) when Marines were Marines and Sailors were afraid to talk to them, yes, back when I served, there was a competition of sorts between the branches of the services. That is to say, each one was sure that the others were mere poseurs, wimps, wanna-bes and wash-outs. I served on several posts where there were multiple services (Presidio of Monterey, for one) and it was quite plain to the eye that the differences between the services were deeply ingrained and would never change. (although, given the choice, I would avail myself of the dining facilities of the Navy and the E-clubs of the Air Force as often as possible)

Something seems to have changed over the years. Looking back through several years of memories, it seems that more and more often whenever I come across a veteran, the difference in branch of service just got less and less important. Not less important to the individual, but less important than the fact that the individual had served this country.

I used to only want to talk to Marine vets. Oh, how many personal histories did I dismiss as “not important” because the speaker was not a Marine? I have learned through trial and trouble, time and temerity, that all service histories, taken together, are what makes up the fabric of the Armed Forces as a whole.

Now, I see every veteran as a brother or sister in arms, a comrade with whom I would share my last dollar or fire my last shot to protect. Marine, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or any of the reserve components, have my undying respect and gratitude for their service.

Some might see this as a sign of weakness; other will recognize growth and maturity when they read this. I prefer to think of it as finally realizing that without any of the services, it would be pretty darned tough to have gotten as far as we did as a country.

Although I give my Navy friends grief, they know that I respect them for their service. The same goes for others I have contact with. I may kid and rib, but underneath it all is the basic love for the fellow fighter, the bond that is forged in service for a common goal. We all served this country, in a capacity we thought we were best suited for. The end result is the important thing – freedom still rings.

I’ve said all that to introduce what I’ve been trying to work into a post since I received it almost two and a half weeks ago. The writer is not a Marine (although I think he would have made a good one), and if he had tried to have this conversation with me while we were serving I would have dismissed it and him as irrelevant, since he wasn’t a Marine. A Navy veteran and friend of mine, Gawfer, popped the following piece to me during The O Word on July 11, 2008. I was going to write a post around it, and I have tried (and failed) to expound and expand on the basic idea in this bit of writing, and have gotten nowhere. The original words are the most powerful, and anything I could do to explain it would be an utter failure:

Whether the founders followed the Christian faith or not, they understood that Biblical values formed the basis of the not only the republic but English Law, and that the republic would be destroyed if the people’s knowledge of those values should ever be lost.

This brings me to the head of the spear, so to speak. Understanding that our constitution is man’s interpretation of God’s divine law, one must assume that at times the constitution will fall short of providing adequate solutions to humanistic transgressions. When this occurs, such as the recent ruling against capital punishment extending beyond murder, and the California Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn the vote of the people regarding gay marriage, the solution is not to interject one’s opinion or to seek a populous consensus as was done in both cases, but to go to the source of our constitution; divine law.

Because secularism has pervaded our society and our nation has become mostly agnostic, our appointed judges are ruling based on a popular opinion rather than using fundamental principles of interpretation. It is very clear that in both cases, the decisions would have been exactly opposite had they adhered to the basic truths and applied biblical principles to each case. Thankfully, we are still ‘One Nation, Under God’; but that is slowly slipping away.

So, there you have it. Time and age have taken the age off of the animosity between branches of service, but at the same time it has forged a stronger bond between like-minded people. As I mentioned in a comment, when BZ urged me to keep on keeping on, if we don’t all “keep on” there won’t be anything worth keeping.

I just re-read this entry, before posting it. I realize it’s a bit of a mind-bender, and it doesn’t really flow as cleanly as it should, but I’m going to leave it up. After all, it is Monday, and this is the result of several themes that have been roiling around in my head all weekend. Have fun keening the depths of my mind.

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Be sure to stop over and listen to (and rate!) the archive of today’s The O Word.

Do you have red on today?

***(confidential note to all the members of the Armed Forces: thank you.)***

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I knew I was forgetting something all along this morning.

Sixty four years ago today, D-Day took place – when allied troops broke through at Normandy and started liberating Europe from the Nazi invasion.

Find a member of that greatest generation, and tell him “Thank you” today. Or, any other day, for that matter.

Also, go to Third Wave Dave and read a story about a very young Marine who epitomizes the pride and love for country. Texas Fred wrote about him here.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I, Cary Cartter, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae, 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

To all who have served: Thank you. May this day help us all to remember those who have given everything in defense of the ideals that is the United States of America.

And thank you, Dad, for instilling in me the morals and ideals that I needed to become the man I am, no matter how painful it was at the time. I miss you.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Tip of the cap to The Loon, who sent this to me and I just saw it last night (mea culpa, mea culpa):

Before You Go Home

Quite the reminder of what we are losing, everyday.

In case I haven’t said this lately, let me say it now – go out and thank as many veterans as you can find. Doesn’t matter how old they are or how young they are. Tell them you appreciate their service to this country. Doesn’t matter if they claim they were forced into it, or if they served willingly and would do it again. Thank them for their service. I thank every veteran I run across. I usually get tears in return, if the veteran is older than I am. I’ll get a “It was my pleasure, sir!” out of the younger ones. If the veteran is a little stooped, and his baseball cap with the 1st MarDiv patch on it has World War Two battlegrounds listed next to it, I’ll learn some military history and some personal service history. If the names on the cap are oriental and difficult to pronounce, I’ll get clarification of the names, and why they are on his cap. Sometimes, from a Viet Nam vet, I’ll get five minutes of silence while his stare goes out to a thousand yards and he runs down his mental list of buddies he can’t see anywhere but in his mind… that’s when I sit quietly, and watch his face, and start to tear up for him, and for my cousin, who died with the epithet of “babykiller” still ringing in his ears, thirty years after he stepped off the freedom bird. Thank them all, because they did something not everyone is willing to do – put their beliefs and their lives fully behind the greatest nation in the world.

Thank you, Gawfer.
Thank you, Doug.
Thank you, Fred.
Thank you, Kris.
Thank you, Old Soldier.
Thank you, Greybeard.
Thank you, Gunny.
Thank you, GuyK.
Thank you, Akinoluna.
Thank you, dtodeen.
Thank you, Hans and Lewis.
Thank you, Fix4RSO.
Thank you, Mac.
Thank you, Stu.
Thank you, Eric.

Added 5-19-08
Thank you, Richard.
Thank you, Rogue.

And thank you to the ones I missed, whether because I couldn’t remember or since I was writing this so late at night I shouldn’t even be up…

To all the veterans out there: Thank You.