“Thank you for your service.” Veterans everywhere appreciate hearing these words. But a simple statement of thanks is a woefully inadequate way to show gratitude when you consider what every service-member, including those who never see combat, has sacrificed and experienced for the benefit of you, your family, your neighbors, and your community. This Veterans’ Day, take a moment to reflect on the losses every veterans regularly endure and reciprocate with a meaningful gesture that will endure long after the holiday passes.
When a young man or woman reports for military service, their first experience is that of leaving their family and friends behind for a minimum of two months while they complete training. For many, it is their first experience away from home, yet they are unable to pick up a telephone and call someone when they feel lonely, discouraged, or incompetent. It’s virtually guaranteed that they’ll have these feelings while they undergo the mental and physical challenges that transform them from a civilian into a warrior.
After completing training, many report feeling unable to relate to their friends as they once did. They walk differently, speak in acronyms that peers don’t understand, and find it hard to empathize with their pals as they used to.
They become accustomed to chipping in to care for their environments and communities. When it snows, they are commanded to shovel sidewalks that they may have never set foot on. They’re ordered to pick up litter and debris that others tossed to the ground. In short, they become responsible to and for the citizens they serve whether they get deployed or not.
Those who are sent to combat zones face a plethora of health risks. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reports that more than twelve percent of combat vets suffer from PTSD in their lifetimes. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a lifelong, sometimes debilitating disorder with no known cure. Among civilians, fewer than four percent are afflicted with the condition. Other combat-zone affects impact many more of our heroes. Mysterious lung conditions, traumatic brain injuries, and depression are far more prevalent among veterans than they are in the general population.
Upon receiving an honorable discharge, the government ships them back home, wherever that may be, with no follow-up assistance. The transition to civilian life can be daunting, especially for service-members who served a single enlistment. Their friends have moved on, and they’ve left behind their military buddies. Their home cities have changed during their absence. They can file for unemployment while they search for a new job and home, but both unemployment and homelessness rates are higher among veterans than non-veterans.
When you consider just how much a young person has sacrificed to protect our reasonably comfortable way of life, wouldn’t you agree that much more can be done to demonstrate our gratitude? This year, consider honoring our veterans in a way that will have a lasting effect.
1. Read the United States Constitution, including its amendments. Make it a point to understand the principles our veterans stand behind better than you do today.
2. Hire a qualified veteran. You’ll appreciate their ability to take direction, be goal-oriented, and their attention to detail.
3. Commit yourself to spending an hour visiting a veterans’ nursing home twice a year – Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day. Every state has at least one veterans’ home. It might mean spending an entire afternoon devoted to the task, but that time is a small investment by comparison to the sacrifices they made for us, after all.
4. Make a PayPal or paper check donation to Stop PTSD Now. Based in Illinois, this non-profit organization is devoted to researching and developing treatment methods for post-traumatic stress disorder.
5. Set up an affordable monthly donation from your bank account to support a homeless shelter. Your donations will help provide food and warm beds for the men and women who make sure we have the right to such necessities ourselves.
6. Ask the people you do business with to support veterans. Ask the manager at your local grocery store to donate surplus food to a homeless shelter for Veterans’ Day. Invite your dentist to donate toothbrushes and toothpaste. Find out if your physician would offer periodic free exams for homeless veterans. Inquire whether your bank would place collection cans at the teller windows to collect funds to support your local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) or DAV (Disabled American Vets). If these companies can’t provide goods and services, perhaps they’d agree to make a donation.
Making one of these Veterans’ Day gestures may put you on the receiving end of thanks the next time you meet one of America’s heroes.
Article: Showing Thanks to Veterans: Five Legacies to Give Back
By Kathy Bohon, Author. Reposted with author’s permission.
