Happy Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day. Tradition says that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month every American should take a quiet moment to honor all those who have served their country. I am a veteran and every year I and many other veterans are invited to the school where I used to teach for a breakfast and breakout sessions with students. Because we meet with elementary age students, it's understandable that we hear all sorts of misconceptions of what a veteran is. Here are some of the things I've heard from 4th graders:

Myth: All veterans actively fought in a war.
Fact: Relatively few veterans actually served in combat. Even when there is an active war going on, only 1 in 10 personal serve in a combat role. Children have a difficult time understanding that it takes a whole lot of people behind the scenes to support the one person firing a rifle.

Myth: Veterans march off full of ideals about freedom, country, pride and loyalty.
Fact: That may be slightly true now but during the days when I served it was completely false. The fact is I and millions of others like me were drafted and we did what we had to do because we didn't want to flee to Canada or go to jail. That's the plain truth. Even today with all volunteer armed forces, people serve for big sign-up bonuses or career opportunities or, as is the case now, high civilian unemployment.

Myth: Veterans have traveled all over the world.
Fact: Most serve at a variety of posts right here in the USA. The biggest noncombat Army duty station today is Korea. Years ago, US Army forces were all over the place. Now it's the Navy that does all the traveling.

Myth: All Veterans made a career out of the service.
Fact: That, of course, is false. Most people serve their term of enlistment and leave.

Now here are some questions I'm often asked:
How many people did I kill?
What's it like to get wounded?
What kind of gun did I use?
How many times was I shot at?
Did I ever see someone get blown up?

You get the idea. These kids get their ideas from TV-absolutely the worst place to learn anything remotely resembling reality. It takes a while to get them to realize it's not at all like that. But it's worth the effort and I appreciate the school taking the time to turn Veterans Day into an educational opportunity. So off I go. Wish me luck. They're a tough crowd.