To All Veterans

November 11, 2002

by Brian W. Peterson

To my father-in-law, Larry Pitts, a retired Naval Commander, who patrolled the skies above the west coast during WWII, hunting for Japanese submarines;

To my great-uncle, “Buddy” Peterson, a ball-turret gunner aboard a B-24 that crashed in England after a bombing run against Germany (he was scheduled to return to Minnesota after that mission, but instead is buried in England);

To my grandfather, Walter Buttress, who fought under Gen. MacArthur in the Philippines and came home to live a normal life, though the scars of war always remained;

To my great-uncles Delbert Mize and Norman Christensen, who fought in Europe and the Pacific, respectively, and survived WWII;

To my cousin, Allen Christensen, who is listed on that famous black wall in Washington, D.C. - he never made it home from Vietnam but we will never know why;

To my friend Don Bruton, who to this day prefers not to talk much about what an Army grunt saw and had to do in Korea;

To my great-grandfathers who fought in WWI and to my other family members who saw combat;

To my dad and uncles Leroy, Jerry, Eugene, and Wayne, cousins John, Jimmie, and Cara, and all of my other family members and friends who volunteered but were blessed enough to avoid the horrors of war;

To all of those who did things they wish they didn’t have to do and saw things they wish they could forget;

To all of the men who returned home injured, without limbs, or with unwanted metallic souvenirs lodged in their bodies;

To all of those who returned home only to be spat upon and ridiculed;

To all of the wonderful women who served as nurses and gave comfort and support during the great wars of the 20^th Century;

To all of those who went into the armed forces and never faced a shot fired in anger - you were in service to your country regardless of the existence of war or peace;

To all those who know what it is to have your best friend die in your arms;

To all of the women such as my grandmother, Lola Buttress, who met the challenge on the home front, a la “Rosie the Riveter;”

To all of the chaplains who saw what no man should see and prayed prayers that they never imagined that they would have to pray;

To all of those who still cannot bear to speak of the unspeakable;

To all of those who stayed home and tested the weapons and planes to ensure that our fighting men had only the best;

To all of those family members of veterans who waited through long, anxious and painful times only to learn that their loved ones would never come home again;

To all of the men and women who are right now firing weapons or preparing to do so, are giving support, or are preparing to ship out soon;

To all of the veterans: I salute you. America salutes you. Thank you for your selfless service to your country and your steadfast defense of our great land.  If not for you, tyrants would have long ago overcome us or this very day might be overrunning us. May God always bless you and may God Bless America.

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Brian W. Peterson writes a political column for the Antelope Valley Press (circulation approximately 60,000) in Palmdale, California. He is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, where he majored in TV/Film. Brian’s weekly commentary and newspaper columns can be found at www.LifeAndLiberty.com.

Send the author an E mail at Peterson@ConservativeTruth.org.

For more of Brian's articles, visit his archives.