Ronald Reagan once paraphrased the words of Abraham Lincoln when he described our nation as “the last best hope of man on earth.”
“The Great American Experiment” as many have come to label our collective ethos still perseveres though the yoke of history is becoming more and more of a burden.
If we are to survive in better fashion than the Greeks, the Persians, the Romans, and other significant societies of the past we must continue to build upon perhaps the one cornerstone they did not have: personal freedom.
The potential for self-determination is what continues to bring the best of other countries to our shores. As long as “we the people” can persist in governing ourselves, rejecting the rule of kings or tyrants or despots, hope exists.
Over the last 100 years that hope has been severely tested. And throughout that period, it has been those who have answered the call to duty that have preserved our national ideal.
From the mud-caked trenches of France to the frozen wastes of Bastogne; from the Chosin Reservoir to the bloody jungles of Vietnam; from the rubble of Fallujah and Ramadi to the unforgiving hillsides of Afghanistan, American men and women have ever responded to stand against the forces that would undo our nation.
It is those individuals who have stood arm-in-arm against the tyranny of evil so prevalent in many corners of the world that have allowed our great experiment to continue and to flourish.
Those who serve, and have served, do so for many reasons, not the least of which is the desire to see our nation remain free.
Among military veterans there is a deference to those who have engaged in battle. Often their physical and emotional scars testify to their commitment to honor and principle. And often they go to great lengths to downplay their own actions and point out the bravery of their comrades.
They are to be revered, yes. But, as with any intricate machine, even the smallest of components are important, even necessary, for the machine to operate as designed. In the military all jobs are significant to the success of the larger unit: the cook, the mechanic, the vehicle driver; the orderly and the warehouse worker… All have a role to play. All are important.
If you are a veteran, feel pride in your service. Whether you were on active duty, in the Reserve, or in the National Guard, when you held up your hand and swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, you accepted the fact that your life might not ever be the same. For many it never again was.
On this Veterans Day, if you are not a veteran, please find one and thank him or her for their service. They have given a portion of themselves to sustain this nation, this United States of America, this last great hope of the world. They are deserving of our appreciation. May they be forever in our fondest memories.
Dewey Randall is the Wells County
Veterans Service Officer
