Veterans are a peculiar bunch. They sign up to serve our country or get drafted. Many of them see the very worst kinds of things in combat. They travel the world. But when they come home, they don’t much like to talk about what they saw or what they did. They might talk to other veterans, but they don’t tend to share much with family or civilian friends.
We have to piece their lives together through stories that run in the local newspapers every Veterans or Memorial or D-Day or Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Or we glean what we can from letters home or the movies.
Can’t say I much blame them. If I saw some of the stuff they saw, I probably wouldn’t want to talk about it either.
That’s been true for most of the veterans I’ve known anyway. My brother, Ford West, got drafted in 1968 and served four years in the Air Force. He requested overseas duty, an they sent him to Alaska where he worked as a medic trying to patch up some of the guys who got messed up in Vietnam. He didn’t really tell many stories about that time in his life.
My dad was deaf, so he wasn’t allowed to serve. He had four brothers, however, who all served at the same time in World War II. They say my grandmother was shook up all the time worried about them. This was before I was born, so I’ve only heard the family stories about this. They all made it back alive and went on to live pretty normal lives. Again, no real stories to tell those of us on the home front.
My brother-in-law is pretty much the same. He served four tours in Vietnam, but he’s shared very little about that experience. My wife’s uncles – WWII veterans – are the same.
Like I said, I can’t say I blame them. As much as we might want to hear the stories and preserve the history, the pain they sometimes bring is almost too much to witness. So we keep quiet, and let them do the same.
But one thing I do want to do is offer my heartfelt thanks – on Veterans Day, and every day. The selfless service of our military members so we can live in relative safety and freedom is beyond the level of sacrifice most of us are willing to make. This patriotic answer to the call of duty is deserving of our honor and respect, and our gratitude. So, this Veterans Day, please join me in saying thank you to our veterans. Your service is most appreciated, and has not gone unnoticed.
As always, if I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at rick.west@okhouse.gov.
- Rick West represents District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of LeFlore County.
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