Buffalostyle Take 4 Veteran's Day

I always find Veteran’s Day to be an emotionally charged holiday. Thoughts of the men and women who served, and are serving, in defense of our country alway stirs my soul.

My father served in the Army during the Korean War. He never talked about it. I never asked. In fact it’s only been the last decade or so that I truly understood the meaning of holidays like Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. The tragedy of 9/11 dramatically delivering the spectre of bravery and dedication that is required of the men and women who serve their country in time of need. So, in that time I have made an effort to more actively acknowledge and honor veterans in community services and through my newspaper columns and radio work.

I cannot imagine what the life experience of war means to those who have served and are serving.. and how it changes not only their lives, but the true essence of their being. And I am haunted by the words of a soldier who served our country with great distinction, Dwight David Eisenhower.

“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”