Thank You For Your Service Just Does’t Seem To Be Enough.
Allen Maken Slide Collection
We have now spent 19 years together here on WoodyBoater. And with that, 19 Veterans Day stories. I always try to avoid repeating myself. We’ve talked about our boats’ service, the 11th hour, my father’s boots. And for the last couple of days, I’ve been wracking my pea brain trying to find another angle. I even landed on “The Sound of Service.” Liberty engines. Airplane engines finding their way into wooden boats.
But? It felt like a stretch. I was trying so hard to connect Veterans Day to our boats that I was putting my need for a story ahead of the reason for telling it. Today is about the people who have served. Those still serving. And everything that service asks of them. We tend to think of service in terms of wartime. But service is a 24/7/365 thing. Standing watch while the rest of us sleep. Training. Moving. Missing birthdays, holidays, and ordinary Tuesdays at home. And yes, that includes the Space Force. A safer universe. Literally.
Even after leaving the service, something stays. A sense of responsibility. Looking out for the person beside you. Showing up when someone needs you. Things we’re fortunate to see in veterans right here in our WoodyBoater family. Maybe after 19 years, I don’t need a new angle. Maybe I just need to stop talking long enough to mean the familiar words.
To all who have served, and all who still do: thank you. It doesn’t seem like enough. But it comes from the heart.
Well said Matt and God bless them all!
This is what I think about on Veteran’s Day. My brother is retired from the Army. He was in Army Special Forces, he was the weapons specialist on the team. He was also a combat diver and spent some time training with the Navy Seals. He was assigned to the Middle East and specialized in Desert Warfare. He served in the first Gulf War and did an extended tour afterward in Saudi Arabia. When he left for work each day, there was always the chance his pager would go off and he had to report within so many minutes into lockdown for project briefings and deployment. He may not come home that night, he couldn’t tell his family where he was going, what he was doing or when he’d be home. Sometimes they were gone more than they were home. Protecting our country and the American people was engrained in his training and still is. That doesn’t go away. He often discusses keeping your head on a swivel wherever you go. Surveying your surroundings and the people in it. He is aware of the exits when he first enters any public place. He always positions himself for best sight minimizing his back and blind spots and he is always carrying to protect both himself and those around him. There are things he still can’t talk about but the stories he does tell are very interesting, heroic. He fought hard, and sacrificed alot serving in the Middle East to keep these threats away from American soil. Let’s just say he is NOT happy right now and very disappointed in the american people and I know he is not alone among Veterans. I have the deepest respect for our military and our veterans. Thank you for your continued service protecting our country every day.