We Veteran’s are the unspoken of “7 Percenters”. I’m not talking about the wealthiest 2 percent which if you’d believe the garbage spewing forth from Liberals and Occupiers mouths are sole responsible for the unhappiness of the rest of us and should be underwriting a free ride for us simply because they are wealthy.
No, I’m speaking of being a member of the 7 percent of American’s who hear a calling in our hearts to protect this country and step up to sign that blank check. OK some of you are saying you didn’t have a choice you were drafted into the military during war time to serve. However all you have to do is look around you to see that there are as many of you that volunteered after the draft was abolished as there are of you.
We hold a title that in my mind is a pretty august one because it can’t be assigned, appointed, inherited, bought or bestowed on you by anyone. It is a title we all earned with our commitment, service, blood, sweat, tears and heartbreak. And while we touch on what went into earning this life long title leave us not forget the sacrifices made by our loved one we left at home while we earned it. From where I stand I find it a crying shame that there is no title that they can carry to honor their suffering and depravations because we were deployed serving our country. We should always be as proud of them as they are of us.
The most recent data from the 2010 Census shows that only seven percent of Americans have served in the military, while veterans make up 20 percent of the current Congress. In 1971, 73 percent of members of Congress were veterans, but veterans made up fewer than 15 percent of the American population.
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+percent+of+Congress+served+in+the+military&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Is it any wonder then why our government mistreats us so badly?
Erodes our benefits, issues substandard ballistic vest to forward deployed combat troops, (when it has them to issue), treats our medical problems brought on from our serving in dirty over taxed and severely aging Veteran’s Hospitals. They label us potential “Home Grown Domestic Terrorists”. Uses our medical care system to probe for reasons to take away our Second Amendment rights? Due to their own administrative mismanagement of paperwork and records attempt to forcibly reclaim several thousands of dollars in ‘signing bonuses’ from National Guardsmen after they have completed in some cases multiple tours in combat zones? Deprive us of the ability to defend ourselves against terrorist attacks on US military bases by refusing to allow us to be armed. Relenting (but only to the point of delaying the collections until a review the collection program to insure it’s ‘fairness’) only after their heavy handed tactics garner the attention of the press? (see articles here and here).
My fellow Brothers and Sisters in Arms from where I stand it seems to me that our Government, the Department of Defense and the Democratic Party at large think the term ‘Veteran’ is synonymous with ‘sucker’ and means its ok to shit on us anytime they find it in their best interest. The only reason this has become possible is because the number of our kindred serving in Congress and the rest of our Government has dropped so low. I say it is high time we changed that by voting only for political candidates at all levels of government who have served in the military.
We Veteran’s all took an oath to defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic when we signed our enlistment papers and at each subsequent re-enlistment and in some cases at promotion ceremonies. None of us were relieved of that oath upon our separation from our respective services. In short, its high time that we went back to honoring that oath. The will of WE THE PEOPLE should amply included WE THE VETERANS in it’s representation. Since we are the few who were willing to protect the people’s rights, I think its only right that they help us protect and defend ours as well as theirs.
Thank you for your kind attention. God Bless You, God Bless our Serving Men and Women and God Bless the United States of America,
Now Ladies and Gentleman, won’t you please join me and the rest of the DL/LL Digital Media Enterprise’s family of Veterans in standing for the playing of our National Anthem.
Veterans! AH-TEN-SHUN!
Star Spangled Banner | The National Anthem | MattNickleMusic
Marine Corps Birthday is on November 10 and celebrates the establishment of the US Marine Corp in 1775.
“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.” – Abraham Lincoln
See Disabled Army Vet’s Perfect Response After He’s Slammed For Using Special Parking Bays
A disabled American army veteran responded in perfect style after a cruel note was left on his car demanding he not use special parking bays because he “didn’t look” handicapped.
The man was left stunned when he returned to his vehicle in Houston, Texas, and discovered the message on his windscreen.
The letter addressed him as “buddy,” before harshly telling him to “stop parking in handicap spots!!!!”
“You DO NOT have a sticker nor do you look handicapped,” it read.
“I have taken a picture of your license plate and sent it to the office for towing by the courtesy officer. Stop being a jerk!!” it added.
The veteran, who has not been named, wrote out a phenomenal response – where he explains exactly why he has the right to use the bays – before attaching it to a photocopy of the original note he’d received.
A picture of the two letters was uploaded to Reddit, and it’s since gone viral with more than 2.8 million views.
“In the state of Texas, if a vehicle has DISABLED VETERAN license plates, that vehicle is not required, BY LAW, to have a handicapped placard displayed, nor a handicapped emblem on the license plate, UNLESS that vehicle is parked on FEDERAL property,” he said.
“If you had bothered to spend 30 seconds and pull the miniature computer out of your pocket to research this then you would have never needed to leave me this offensive note.
“Considering that you took a picture of my license plate that says: DISABLED VETERAN US ARMED FORCES.
“But it’s cool. You probably just let your emotions get the best of you and felt like being a social justice hero,” he added, before commenting on his appearance.
“Although I may not ‘look’ handicapped to you, I can assure you that the amount of pain I feel from walking due to combat-sustained injuries far supersedes any level of pain you have ever felt in your entire life,” he said.
“Or maybe not… Who am I to say? After all, I don’t even know who you are. By the way, I would love to hear what your idea of a handicapped person ‘looks’ like.”
The author then revealed he would frame the original message and “look at it everyday as to remind myself what kind of person NOT to be.”
He signed off with the phrase: “The guy who doesn’t look handicapped.”
For those of you finding the facts above a little hard to read let me list them here for you:
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More military deaths by suicide than in combat (since) 2012.
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Military suicides at a rate higher than the last 10 years (22 per day on average) .
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8 to 20% of military personnel deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan suffer a Traumatic Brain Injury.
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20% of all suicides nationally are committed by Veterans.
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300,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with some level of PTSD.
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Traumatic Brain Injuries can increase suicidal thoughts and behavior (so can PTSD).
Trace Adkins- Semper Fi
It’s usually Ibuprofen with an additional low dosage painkiller and oft referred to as “grunt candy”. It helps the troops shrug off the constant aches and pains a their harsh lives and function at top levels so they can make and mean statements like this:
.
In honor of Fleet Week (May 2016), Jimmy and Adam perform “Friends on All Bases” (parody of “Friends in Low Places”).
The brave men and women who serve in our nation’s military should always get to hear “thank you,” no matter where they go. And whether you agree or not with the current wars our country is in, one thing is certain: our soldiers always deserve to be given honor and respect!
Jimmy Fallon is well known for his appreciation and respect for the men and women in our armed forces. His father-in-law flew the early jet fighters during the Cold War, and he’s let his patriotism be known to the world time and time again. So it makes sense that, during New York City’s Fleet Week, he would make sure to have an audience full of nothing but military servicemen and women!
But inviting them all to see his show wasn’t enough — Fallon wanted to make sure he’d send them off with a very personalized gift. So he donned his cowboy hat, picked up the guitar, and got onstage to perform a riff on the Garth Brooks’ classic “Friends in Low Places.”
Along with the help of his fellow SNL alum Adam Sandler, the two absolutely blew the minds of his whole audience with their silly, but respectful lyrics that honor all of his friends on all of the bases! Make sure to check this hilarious video out!
The Charge of the Light Brigade
1.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
“Charge for the guns!” he said:
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
2.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew Someone had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
3.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.
4.
Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre stroke Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred.
5.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.
6.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made! All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred.
Copied from Poems of Alfred Tennyson, J. E. Tilton and Company, Boston, 1870
Tattoos and Scars (Montgomery Gentry)
Cammo Cat is all loaded up and ready for war.
“And I learned early in my life that only two things protected America, the grace of Almighty God and the United States Military. It was that way then, it is that way now and will forever be that way as long as America remains a free and sovereign nation. “ – Charlie Daniels
Kristy Lee Cook – Airborne Ranger Infantry
Often when our veterans return from their tour of service, the tolls of war have been too great to bear alone. Wars in the Middle East and other parts of the world have left some of our bravest service personnel with injuries that will affect them the rest of their lives. Some require intense rehabilitation and years of physical therapy.
http://www.thejourneyhomeproject.org/
WWII veteran gets surprise honor at his home
98-Year-Old World War II Vet Tears Up When Navy Sailors Surprise Him With Song
Navy veteran Ernest Thompson served on the on the USS Missouri during WWII and witnessed the end of the historic war. At 98 years old, Ernie is no longer able to visit the USS Iowa battleship so the Navy Chief Selects came to him.
Volunteers from the Battleship IOWA in California put together the event to him for his bravery and his service to the country. Battleship IOWA Museum Volunteer Coordinator Susan Schmidt filmed this awesome film of Chief Selects from the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center visiting fellow IOWA museum crew member and WWII veteran Ernie Thompson.
The Navy Chief Selects showed up at the front door of the WWII veteran to honor him with a song. 24 chief selects stood in front of his California home and serenaded him with the Navy’s march song, thanked him for his service, and presented him with a special gift, a commemorative plaque made from actual wood from the ship.
Short poem you won’t forget.
Do you recall the President referring to the Benghazi incident as “a bump in the road?”
Today I heard an ex-Navy Seal being interviewed on Fox News regarding a book he has
Written about how to handle crisis situations in our lives.
At the end of the interview he asked if he could make a comment on Benghazi and, of course,
The anchor said “yes.”
He then thanked Fox News for keeping the Benghazi story in the news, since other news organizations are not.
He said the Seals who died deserve the public knowing the truth about the whole affair.
The poem was written by an anonymous Marine Corps officer:
“THE BATTLING BOYS OF BENGHAZI”
We’re the battling boys of Benghazi,
No fame, no glory, no paparazzi.
Just a fiery death in a blazing hell,
Defending our country we loved so well.
It wasn’t our job, but we answered the call,
Fought to the Consulate and scaled the wall.
We pulled twenty countrymen from the jaws of fate
Led them to safety and stood at the gate.
Just the two of us and foes by the score,
But we stood fast to bar the door.
Three calls for reinforcement, but all were denied,
So we fought and we fought and we fought ’til we died.
We gave our all for our Uncle Sam,
But Barack and Hillary didn’t give a damn.
Just two dead Seals who carried the load
No thanks to us…we were just
“Bumps In The Road”.
Mitch Rossell – A Soldier’s Memoir
Don’t forget our 4 footed Vets either!
Those boys and girls are the effects of the blast from a roadside IED on an armored Humvee. This is the sort of thing our troops have to worry about and deal with everyday.
Darryl Worley: I Just Came Back From A War
Fallen soldier Nathan Fair
National Veterans Day Ceremony
The Veterans Day National Ceremony is held each year on November 11th at Arlington National Cemetery . The ceremony commences precisely at 11:00 a.m. with a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns and continues inside the Memorial Amphitheater with a parade of colors by veterans’ organizations and remarks from dignitaries. The ceremony is intended to honor and thank all who served in the United States Armed Forces.
November 11, 2014 – Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia on Veterans Day. The Vice President was joined by military leaders and other dignitaries as fellow proud Americans watched the ceremony … all honoring veterans for their service to our beloved America.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Dragon Laffs 
Jeff “Lethal Leprechaun”,
I’ve waited until today, Veteran’s Day, to comment on your issue for two reasons.
First of all, the day your special issue was published, Wednesday, I was very emotional because of your works. I wanted a day to process my emotions and really examine them and why I felt the way I did. Being the day the results of the election came out and my overwhelming relief that my worst fears hadn’t come to fruition might also have something to do with how I felt. I had no idea how big a weight was lifted from my shoulders when I learned that Hillary hadn’t been elected.
The second reason is that I wished to go through your post again, on Veteran’s Day, to see how I reacted and to reexamine what you wrote.
The biggest and most prevalent feeling I have is pride. I am proud to have served in uniform and to continue to serve in jeans and T-Shirt. I am proud to say that my oath “to defend the constitution of the United State from all enemies, foreign and domestic” is as much in force now, as it was when I was enlisted. Maybe even more so now, then before. I am proud to call you my brother-in-arms (as well as brother in so many other ways), proud that the two of us were in uniform at the same time, just in different parts of the world, proud that I know you’ve got my “6” NO MATTER the reason, situation, or circumstances and proud that you know the same of me. And I am so very proud of being a citizen/servant of the greatest country in the world.
The other emotion is gratitude. I will end with the little thing I say to “my” Airmen (they are “my” Airmen because they are my brothers who have taken the same oath as both Lethal and I have taken) after every single class I teach and direct it to every single Vet out there, be you active duty, retired, guard or reserve:
“I want to thank each and everyone of you for your service. You know, it takes a very special person to raise their hand and say, ‘yeah, verily, I promise to give everything, up to and including my own life, to protect not only my own family, but also people I have never and will never meet.’ It is an incredible thing to think you are willing to put your ass on the line between your loved ones and the rest of us, including me and my family and the overwhelming evilness in this world. Thank you from the bottom of my heart from me and my family and for every single American in our country.”
In deep respect,
Bob “Impish Dragon”
Semper Fi you big blue fly guy, Semper Fi
THANK YOU to every single vet and active duty!!!!!!!
Damned Skippy Joe!
At the grocery store, I saw a soldier. I stepped up with my hand out and told him “I’d like to thank you for your service.” He took my hand, and said, “And I thank you for your support.”
The rest of the day a thought plagued me, and am now determined to say to the next soldier, “I thank you for your support and apologize to you that as a citizen, I have not DEMANDED soldiers be paid better, and taken care of better once they return home.”
A most excellent edition, as usual. You can add my name to the last graphic.
I’d like to believe you speak for all our Veteran readers Don.
Thanks for the support
Lethal you always make “SPECIAL” issues for holidays, but your Memorial Day and Veterans
Day brings tears to my eyes. I’ve been with Dragon Laffs for years, but you always make these
issues NEW. You make us realize the sacrifice our brave warriors give to our country and keep us safe. Thank you for your service, and I know you suffer daily with wounds from your service.
Perhaps our new President will give the respect and assistance due all our veterans. It’s about time we take care of our military. I also thank Impish Dragon for his service, two “crazy” guys that add so much to our lives.
What a great piece, to much can never be said to those that serve, to keep our freedom
Thank you for your support John.
an AWESOME post today,,, if you do not shed a tear for those who protect and defend us,, then you are heartless and not human. THEY give without being asked,, while we sit here and enjoy our freedom,, When we think of helping someone, it should be THEM that we help first. When I graduated high school, I wanted to join the service, but my Mother would not sign the papers and by the time I was old enough to join without her signing I was involved in a business I could not leave.. I regret that I did not get the opportunity to serve and try to help and thank the service people I see every day.. GOD BLESS and take care of them ALL…
I like your attitude about Vets and those serving Maggie.
Now we need to see that our Government has the same attitude.
The best way for that to happen is to raise the number of Vets serving in Congress and the State Legislatures
by encouraging them to run and voting for them.
What a GREAT post.
Thanks Henry. Every year I works long and very hard on this issue