Some veterans bear visible signs of their service...
A missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.



Others may carry the evidence inside them...
A pin holding a bone together, a piece of schrapnel
in the leg, or perhaps another sort of inner steel...
The soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.



Except in parades, however, the men and women who have
kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.

You can't tell a Vet just by looking.
What is a Vet?



He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in
Saudia Arabia sweating two gallons a day to make sure
the Armored Personnel Carriers didn't run out of fuel.



He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden
planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behaviour is outweighed
a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of
exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.



She or he is the nurse who fought against futility
and went to sleep sobbing ever night for two solid
years in Da Nang.



He is the POW who went away one person
And came back another........
Or, didn't come back at all.



He is the Quantico Drill Instructor who has never
seen combat but, has saved countless lives by turning
slouchy rednecks, and gang members into Marines and
teaching them to watch each other's backs.



He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on
his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.



He is the career Quartermaster who watches the
ribbons and medals pass him by.



He is the three anonymous heroes in
The Tomb Of The Unknowns whose presence
at the Arlington National Cemetery must
forever preserve the memory of all the
anonymous heroes whose valor dies
unrecognized with them on the battlefield
or in the ocean's sunless deep.



He is the old guy bagging our groceries at the
supermarket - Palsied now and aggravatingly slow
who help liberate a Nazi Death Camp and who wishes
all day long that his wife were still alive to hold
him when the nightmares come.



He is an ordinary and yet extraordinary human being -
A person who offered some of his most vital years
in the Service Of His Country and who sacrificed
his own ambitions so others would not have to
sacrifice theirs.



He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against
the darkness - and he is nothing more than the finest,
greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest
Nation ever known.



He is the begger on the street corner,
holding a piece of cardboard with the
scribbling, "Help A Vet, HUNGRY!"



So, remember, each time you see someone who has
served our Country, just lean over and say
"Thank You". That's all most people need and
in most cases it will mean more than any Medals
they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Just two little words that mean a lot...
"THANK YOU"!





This Page Dedicated With Pride And Honor To Veteran:

Curtis Graham

For His Unconditional Love And Honor While Serving
His Great Country In The Army With The First Calvary
During 1968 - 1969. He Is An Active Member Of The
DAV {Disabled American Veterans} And A Member Of The
VFW {Veterans of Foreign Wars}. To Say A Simple
"Thank You" Could Never Be Enough To Repay You For
All That You Sacrificed During Active Duty. I
Have No Medals Or Awards To Present To You, So Please
Accept My Sincere "Thank You" For All That You Have
Done For Me, My Family, And The Greatest Country On Earth.

You Are Truly The Spirit Of Freedom!
We will Forever Be In Your Debt!

Vernie
Life's Riches Webmistress