Veterans

There have been so many wars in our recent history, there are a lot of veterans out there. And, with the most recent conflict in Iraq, the veterans have just gotten younger. Most of us have this perception that veterans are older people who fought in World War II or Vietnam. Well, this is no longer the case. Now, the veterans could be as young as eighteen or nineteen, depending on how long they served in the war and when they finished their tour of duty.

Veterans are interesting people because they have a lot of first hand stories to tell. In this modern time, however, most of the stories are already discussed in the media. However, back in World War II the media did not know everything so the stories seemed more interesting. Even so, getting an individual soldier’s perspective is a lot more accurate a portrayal than what the media often has to say. It is best to get these stories on film or write them down. Family members often appreciate knowing what their relatives went through in the war, especially if they have passed on and cannot tell the stories anymore. These stories have a lot to do with their personality and their life. To understand the veterans, you need to understand what happened to them.

War is a tough thing to handle at times and some of the veterans left the war barely hang on to their lives, either mentally or physically. Soldiers break down with the pressure and they have breakdowns. Or they could be dealing with serious, potentially life threatening injuries. The sad thing is that a lot of these veterans do not have families to tend to them, or to worry about them, or even return to after the war is over. The lives of veterans can be sad and lonely.

But they do have each other. They can join their local Veterans of Foreign War chapter and find a group of people who will actually understand them. They can keep in touch with their unit and talk about their lives and what they went through in the war. Or, they could try to find their own ways to cope with what happened to them in the war. Veterans are special people because they served for us, and for this country, and they should be respected.