America's Appreciation

2 months ago

America’s Appreciation

Benjamin Bell (2001-2004)

Veteran’s Day

I wear a lanyard at work. It says “US ARMY,” and I’ve adorned it with accouterments. There are two pins commemorating certifications I’ve earned as a registered nurse. I added a ribbon to support a cause I believe in. There is a 20-year federal service pin. And of course, my mini–Tomb Guard Identification Badge tie tack I purchased at a Society reunion many years ago. All worn with pride at the VA Hospital here in Tampa.

For the past 15 years, I have worked as a registered nurse for the VA. It’s a good fit, putting me with a bunch of salty vets. I speak the language. We get each other. It’s a nice arrangement. At the Tomb, we had a saying, “Every day is Memorial Day in Arlington”. Here at the Department of Veterans Affairs, every day is Veterans Day. I need to remember that because the history buff and New Man in me wants to remember Armistice Day. Armistice Day of course, is the original day in November that celebrated the end of World War I. At least until the 83^rd Congress amended the law in 1954 to proclaim November 11^th as a day to honor American veterans.

I take pride in my service at the Tomb and as a nurse at the VA. As a Tomb Guard, I am part of a long line of soldiers who maintained The Vigil. Our nation is not the first to elevate unknown soldiers, but we can all agree that no other nation honors their unknowns with the dedication of the Tomb Sentinel. Similarly, at the VA, I am part of a team whose scope and mission are incomparable to those of any other nation in the world.

When I think of veterans, I don’t think of Tomb Guards, or Army Rangers, or Air Force pilots. Those may be the visible public poster children of the military, but it’s not what comes to mind. I think of the invisible veterans, the ones who you might never know that they were once a young 18-year-old person raising their hand to protect and defend the Constitution. I think of people like my neighbor, David. I first met David ten years ago and was introduced to him as a handyman. Over the years, I came to know him as a very reliable and neighborly person who would do anything for you. During a hurricane, he was the guy I counted on who wasn’t going anywhere.

It was years before I discovered he was a fellow Army veteran. I ran into him at the VA while he was in for an appointment. He told me how he spent some time rehabbing an injury at the VA decades before. Then I found out he was a Vietnam veteran. Much later, he showed me his ribbon rack (or “fruit salad” as he calls it). I noticed a Purple Heart ribbon… with a bare spot for two oak leaf clusters. I couldn’t believe it. Here was an actual hero, a man I considered my friend who had given more for our country than I had realized.

He likes to tell me a story from years after the Vietnam War. He met another veteran and when they realized they were both Vietnam Veterans, the man handed David a coin that read “Welcome Home”. David cherishes that coin. He wished he could have gotten one when he came home from Vietnam.

That’s one thing that I can’t understand… a nation without gratitude for her veterans. I have never known that. I should consider myself lucky. Every day I get to walk into the VA hospital and serve veterans. It is truly an honor. “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan,” is a quote from President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address. Many VA facilities have a plaque proclaiming this quote to greet visitors at the entrance. The ideals it proclaims is something America espouses to achieve.

I’m reminded of President Reagan’s remarks during the ceremonies honoring the unknown serviceman of the Vietnam War: “Thank you my dear son. May God cradle you in His loving arms.” For those of us in this fraternity, we understand the tenets of The Mission. We were “…responsible for maintaining the highest standards and traditions of the United States Army and this Nation while keeping a constant vigil at this national shrine.” Like The Mission, Veterans Day is but a small part of a deep-seeded American value: to not only elevate and honor those who have served the nation but to care for them in perpetuity.