military

Freedom Isn’t Free

Currently there is a national push to thank our military personnel, past and present, for their service. That’s a wonderful thing, because freedom isn’t free. Sometimes it’s hard to understand why we have “boots on the ground” in some places we know little about. Our government makes the decision where our troops go. We don’t have to agree with that decision, but I ask that you support the troops regardless.

Have you ever noticed a small rectangular white flag in the window of a house in your neighborhood? If that flag has a blue star in the middle it means an active duty military person calls that address home; one of the parents hung that flag with a feeling of pride. If the flag has a gold star, it means the military member made the ultimate sacrifice with his or her life for the United States of America.

Think about that a minute and relate it to your own life. Can you call, skype, text, or visit your child at will? Some parents can’t. They go to the cemetery and cry, shake their head with disbelief, and imagine the next holiday without their child in attendance. Does the hurt of losing a child ever go away? No. It becomes tolerable over time because you learn to deal with it, but it never goes away. (We buried a daughter, 13 years ago, when she was 27, after an auto accident; that’s how I know.)

We have many freedoms in this country that other countries do not enjoy. Are we perfect? Far from it. Probably never will be, but at least we don’t have a civil war tearing at us night and day like Syria does. Be thankful for that. Be thankful for the relative peace we do have. Be even more thankful for the military that keeps us safe in ways we will never know about. And the next time you see a little white rectangular flag in someone’s window say a silent prayer the blue star never gets replaced by a gold one; if it is already a gold one, remember, freedom isn’t free and that family has paid the price.

There are Gold Star Mother groups in many cities all over the country. Visit http://www.goldstarmoms.com to find one near you. They can help a parent deal with loss.

I wrote this from a parent’s point of view because that is what I am. It can also be turned around that it is the child going to visit their parent in the cemetery. Again. Freedom isn’t free.

09/26/2016 0

My Definition of a POW

I have a lot of connections to the military, both past and present. I fly the American flag 24/7. Yes, it is properly lit. I went outside yesterday and switched out the American flag for my POW/MIA flag that I will leave up until Monday in honor of my friends, some of which I can tell you their names and most of which I can’t. I have the privilege of writing this in a sate of freedom because of the military, not because of our government that no longer takes care of our veterans. I won’t apologize, I’m very biased on this subject.

I believe in my heart there are three different definitions of a POW. First: the military member that was/is actually held by the enemy. John McCain is the one I think of first. Second; the veteran that leads a “normal” life, but has nightmares about his tour of duty, maybe is getting some help dealing with PTSD, talks to his brotherhood, other veterans, about what he had to do and what he witnessed. Third; the person sitting at a bar who talks about his tour of duty like he came home yesterday, and it was actually many years ago; he/she doesn’t identify with todays life, feels alone and contemplates suicide on occasion. There are about 20 veteran suicides a day. Some have sought help and couldn’t get it, some never sought because they couldn’t admit the tough guy needed it and others because they lived in too rural an area to have help available.

Any veteran that did as our government directed will never be free of the memories. I know a WWII and Korean Was vet whose job it was to load bombs. He has told me, “I have no idea if any of the bombs I loaded were ever used, but it eats at me day and night.” He generally stays awake at night, and sleeps during the daylight hours. Tears form just writing this. He’s a really good guy, a great poet and he has my utmost respect.

There is a 90 plus year old lady in my home town that still wears the copper bracelet with her sons name on it; James Moore. It also has the date he went missing in Viet Nam. She never forgets either, and neither does her family.

I know this isn’t my usual type post. I’ll close asking you to remember any POW or MIA with respect. And while we’re at it, the American Flag and what it represents is why our veterans suffer with their memories.

09/16/2016 1

Pediatric Nurses Day

The picture has the correct name for this day; National Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day. I truly hope no one in your family or circle of friends ever needs to get to know one of these very special people, but we know life isn’t always fair.

My daughter had major surgery when she was 3 1/2 to fix problems in her urinary tract. I’m thankful it wasn’t cancer or a blood disorder. Luckily she hasn’t needed more surgery as she ages. That Doc did a great job. Where, you might ask. At Chanute Air Force Base Hospital in Rantoul, Illinois. That was way back in 1978. The base isn’t open anymore.

As a young mother, away from home, with two children and an Air Force husband, that was not an easy time in my life. If you haven’t had any connection with a branch of the U. S. military, I will tell you they are a brotherhood. In base housing, your neighbors are generally immediate friends, because they are away from home, just like you. There is a bond produced by understanding that a military member’s life is not his/her own. When the government of the country the member has signed their life away to, says jump. you jump. It’s not a question, or a I’ll think about it, it’s how it is. The families bond together just like the active duty members do because it’s necessary. (I’m not complaining, just trying to explain. I do digress.)

The nurses, techs, room cleaners, and doctors in a military hospital are all active duty military members, or they were in 1978, maybe it’s different now. Anyway, I admire them highly. Taking care of someone you can communicate with is one thing, caring for a baby is another. Taking care of a child or teen that wants no part of a stranger can be trying too. I have noticed that sick children seem to be calmer than non-sick. My daughter’s surgeon said she didn’t feel good enough to be a brat, until he fixed her. It was worth it.

I am an emotional person. I cry at things in movies that others don’t even see as poignant. I cry when I’m happy, when I’m sad, and when I’m frustrated. So, again, I admire any nurse that can care for a child, do their best, comfort the parent, then watch them walk out of their lives as quickly as they appeared. Maybe it’s the quick come and go that makes it easier for them. I couldn’t do their job without getting attached.

I’ll repeat, I pray you never have to know one of these caring, capable, super-human nurses. I’m thankful they exist.

09/08/2016 0

National Airborne Day

National Airborne Day is observed each year on August 16. This is a day designated by the United States Congress to honor the nation’s airborne forces of the Armed forces. National Airborne Day was created in 2001 by 43rd United States President, George W. Bush.

August 16, 1940, marks the date of the first official Army parachute jump, validating the innovative concept of inserting United State ground combat forces behind a battle line by parachute.

_______________________________________________________________

I’m guessing, but I’ll bet if I ask my grandson about pilots in the U.S. military forces he would look at me and in his dead pan way, say, “Grandma, they’re in the Air Force.” Not necessarily so, my precious little one.

The Army had the first pilot in 1907; the Navy in 1910; the Marines in 1911; and the Coast Guard in 1916. The Air Force wasn’t even formed until 1947; before that is was part of the Army. The point, the United States is protected by our armed forces and each branch has it’s own aircraft/helicopter and it’s own pilots. I’m sure you’ve seen movies depicting each of these branches as I have, but I never thought about the reality of pilots in each branches until I started doing some reading.

In the mid ’80’s I was working at a Denny’s just outside a large Air Force base. We were used to seeing guys in their flight suits. One day I noticed all the insignia on the suits were different. Being a detail person, I read them, then asked if they had flown in the Navy plane. One of the guys told me no one was supposed to know that particular plane was on the base. I just smiled and told him they shouldn’t have landed in the day light then. He didn’t seem to think anyone would notice a fighter coming into a base where only cargo planes were usually seen. Guess I fooled him!

If I may be so bold, as you go about your day think about the freedoms we have in the United States, then say a quiet thank you and offer a prayer for safety for all our Airborne Forces and their support teams.

08/16/2016 1

National Purple Heart Day

The first Purple Heart was created by General George Washington in 1782 to be presented to soldiers for “any singularly meritorious action”. Since 1917 it has been awarded to any soldier, in any branch of U.S. service, when they are wounded or killed in action. I happen to believe it should be awarded to every service member because of the wounds they receive to their psyche; the ones that another person can’t see.

I attend the local Veteran’s Writing group in the city where I live. We met yesterday morning and I asked who had a purple heart. Out of the three Viet Nam Vets, One WWII Vet, and three Iraq/Afghanistan Vets, no one had been awarded a Purple Heart for a visible wound to their body. But, I know they all carry the wounds of being deployed. Each one of them has lost a close friend, or wartime “brother” or “sister” during a combat related experience. Each one of them admits to nightmares about something they were ordered to do, something they saw happen, or sometimes about the fact they couldn’t make a difference when they thought it was their duty to do so, or the fact they came home alive when their buddy didn’t.

I made the comment, “I was just a dependent wife,” because in my mind, that’s all I was. I never had to face being shot at in a war zone, or hold my friend’s mortally wounded body while he took his last breath. One of the Vets, Steve, told me after our writing session that if I left my childhood home to be the wife of a military service member, I too was a veteran. If only for the fact I understand what sacrifices they make so the citizens of the United States can enjoy the freedoms they do. I wish I had the capability to make eveyone understand what it does to any past or present military service member when they see someone disrespect the flag of this country.

Don’t get me wrong. I am all for free speech and freedom of expression. I just wish everyone could understand those freedom’s come with a heavy price for our service members. Another point Steve made today is that military personnel are expected to be tough. They go through a rigorous training to make them that way. So when they realize they need help with some of their unseen wounds it is hard for them to admit it and seek help.

I have come to respect every person I’ve met in the Veteran’s Writing group, if not love them. If it were up to me, they would all have a Purple Heart.

08/07/2016 0

Sue Spitulnik

Writing, Sewing, Travel, and Thoughts

Category