Veterans Day

It seems funny to me. It was not that long ago that I was in the military on board this awesome vessel. I first met the ship in San Fransisco, CA. I was 18, excited to be away from home, fresh out of boot camp, and gungho Navy. (Pretty good for a girl from land locked Utah huh?) I spent the best years of my life on this ship. I did two deployments with her and I got to see plenty of foreign countries. Some of them I wouldn't mind going back to visit, while others can stay where they are.

(On a side note that has nothing to do with this particular blog is that I recently found out that this ship ran aground in February of this year costing about $40 million in damage to the ship and about $7 million in damage to the coral reefs off the coast of Hawaii and my old XO took command after the CO was relieved of duty. I shake my head in dismay and say "really?")

All day today I have heard nothing but "Happy Veterans Day". This day is not supposed to be a "happy" day. It is meant to be a day of thanks for those that are serving or have served and remembrance for those that served and lost their lives for our freedom. It is not a day of celebration but a day of mourning. I believe that it is because the general public people do not know what it means to serve or what it meant to all of us that did serve and they just do not know what to say. That is quite alright, I will take your "Happy Veterans Day" comment and put it aside and tell you that "you are welcome, I did it for you, for my family, for my friends, for all of my fellow Americans." So the next time you see a sailor, soldier, or marine, thank them...Thank them for all that they did and continue to do, no matter how long they served or will serve.

Today, I give thanks to all military forces and I salute you my friends. Thank you.