There are nearly 22 million living American military veterans, and we owe each of them big time.
On this day, Veterans Day 2010, we honor them all - from 109-year-old Frank Buckle of West Virginia, the last of the World War I doughboys, to World War II's greatest generation, to the combatants of Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and other far-off places, all the way to the warriors of Iraq and Afghanistan.
We salute their bravery, their valor, their patriotism, and we do so ever mindful that many have given what cannot be repaid by the most heartfelt ceremonial.
For this is the modern age of warfare, in which miracles of medicine save lives that would once have been lost, raising the need for long-term care.
Abroad in America there are more than 5,000 survivors of serious brain injuries, more than 3,000 involving penetration through the skull. An additional 168,000 troops have been diagnosed with brain injuries classified as mild or moderate.
Then, too, 156,000 troops have been diagnosed provisionally with posttraumatic stress disorder, another category of harm whose consequences will become clear only as the years go by.
An astonishing 2.1 million men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even more astounding, more than 40% have been deployed for two tours and nearly 300,000 have gone back three or four or more times.
While all enlisted as volunteers, their sacrifices have been severe.
Fathers and mothers miss long stretches of time with spouses and children. They appear and disappear from the lives of their loved ones, and the threat of death or injury hovers at every absence.
And at this minute, the fight goes on. At this minute, courageous souls are putting their lives on the line in heroic service of country. May they all return home intact. And may this nation make recompense to those who do not, and to their loved ones, in the same spirit in which they have so willingly given to us.
source: http://www.nydailynews.com
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