Veterans Day rant

Veterans Day is coming, almost a day away in fact. Veterans Day is a day to give thanks to Veterans (I'll get into this in a minute). In a few hours though it will mark the the greatest celebration in my opinion of the 240th year of the Marine Corps being in existence.

Let me express my love for a minute about the Marine Corps. I'm a third generation United States Marine. My Grandmother and Grandfather are Marines. My father is a Marine. I followed their footsteps. In fact the same historical footprints they stood upon, so did I. Once a Marine always a Marine. The thing about the Marine Corps is that, the United States doesn't need a Marine Corps, they WANT it. We're not Soldiers, were Marines. A Tittle that is earned. No disrespect towards other branches but hey, they even know we're the best, they know we have the hardest training, we have the most discipline and pride in our Marine Corps. Other forces in wars have ran away from the Marine Corps uniform just like young men and woman look at the Marine Corps recruiter and run. Haha hang out in a recruiting office and watch willing applicants choose the office they go in and you'll see what I mean.

In my career I've had ups and downs, good times and bad times. No matter what the circumstances were, I have stories. More crazy stories than ordinary haha. I was deployed to Iraq in 2007 with the World Famous Gunfighters. Then again in 2010 to Afghanistan. I did recruiting for 3 years for Recruiting Station Kansas City, Mo. In those 3 years I found the greatest Men and Women to become United States Marines to serve this country. And ending my career as a HMLA-167 Warrior. I've met some of my best friends in the Marines, too many to count. Hell its so small of a Marine Corps I've been in a combat zone with my Brother In Law. I've gotten trained by the best men possible and I've taken that knowledge and passed it on to the next young generation of the Corps. I just got promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant on October 1st. This year is my last year as an Active Duty Marine, ending 10 years of my impact on this branch of service.

Now for my rant;

Veterans Day isn't about a free meal. Sure it's so awesome that citizens and business give back to us. But this day is confused with Memorial Day and what the actual meaning of what a veteran is. A veteran is someone who has honored their contract. Their obligated time that they signed the "blank pay check". Also it's for those whom are veterans of combat campaigns.

I will tie this into Memorial Day because some veterans gave their all. They're not here to celebrate. This is what upsets me. You'll see service members out celebrating on November 11th. You'll thank them for their service. It doesn't go unappreciated. But there are many out there that are still serving. There are many who haven't had the opportunity to go to war like I was. There are many that earned the title that didn't fulfill their obligation and this is what pisses me off. It's hard to tell who is whom but you'll see people out and about that don't rate. There are frauds out there that Claim PTSD from boot camp, but they'll be in line at a Golden Corral buffet with their "anxiety" . Again I don't know everyone's story but this is one thing I don't like about OUR Veterans Day.

Ok I seem like an a-hole right? Sure you can say that. But what can we really do?

Me personally I'm spending time in Florida with my family to scatter the ashes of my mother in law that just passed recently. She gave birth to a young man that became a Marine and she was a great woman. If it wasn't for her writing me in Iraq I wouldn't be with her daughter, my wife, the mother of my children.

Ok, back on topic what can we do instead of free meals? We can celebrate our asses off and be thankful were still here. Or how about we go to a school ceremony for veterans and see all those kids that respect us. Go to a VFW or American Legion and have a beer with an old crust war vet. How about we go get that free meal we rate and take it to a veteran or someone who won't have a hot meal that night?

That is basically how I truly feel. Again so many people I'd like to tag and thank for their time and how they impacted me but honestly that's probably 90% of my friends list. I do want to thank my wife and my kids for the time they have sacrificed and my father, grandmother and grandfather for letting me join the greatest fraternity in the world.

Thanks again for your time!