Many years ago, recruitment for the military looked very different than it does today. Young men left home early via the draft to serve their country often to return home and find the place they left looked very different. To those who never left to serve, they would likely argue that the home had not changed, but the soldier had. Those who knew a soldier pre-deployment wondered what happened to change the perspective so much on those who served.
Imagine fighting in hand to hand combat or walking through a jungle having no idea if and when you would come home alive. Leaving your family, your home, pets, and community to fly across the world to make our nation safer for those who remained behind was something that many felt was a privilege. But then imagine coming home and having to relive the memories that forever play in the mind of our soldiers who often returned to nothing familiar.
Often civilians fail to understand the depths of depression and isolation that many of our vets quietly carry inside. Why? Because many vets believe their needs are not as important as our freedom. These are the men and women you will find today first in line to help another out. Despite the huge sacrifice that so many have made to make our nation safer and stronger, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports that 11% of the homeless population is a veteran.
Today as our nation comes together to observe Veterans Day, I ask you to have a conversation with your family members tonight. Let us remind our youth that the freedom so often taken for granted has come at a great expense to many. As I write this blog today, men and women are deployed all over the world making a huge sacrifice for those us here in America. Our youth today are often unaware of the silent heroes that suffer physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally every single day.
When you see a veteran and extend your hand to say “Thank You” pause for a moment. You will find that you are holding the hand of a person that gives more than they receive. They are the keeper of our burdens and often not acknowledged nearly enough. Tomorrow on November 12, the Missing in America Project will be inurning the cremated remains of seven World War II veterans who served in the US Army and US Navy with full military honors at Georiga National Cemetary. The procession will depart from Roswell Funeral home at 1 pm following a brief ceremony and travel westbound on GA-92 through the city of Woodstock to arrive at the Georgia National Cemetary at approximately 1:40 pm. These remains have made the ultimate sacrifice and having our community there to pay our respects is our pleasure.
If you are a veteran, today, tomorrow and every day we say “Thank You.” You are the game changers that allow us to sleep under the greatest flag on earth, the United States. To learn more about how we support our troops, please visit our website at http://www.angelhousega.com. We partner with the Cherokee Veterans Community to support our veterans. We have enlisted many of our girls over the years into all branches of the services. Thank you for allowing us to help serve them so they can now serve us.