veteran [vet-er-uhn, ve-truhn]
–noun
| 1. | a person who has had long service or experience in an occupation, office, or the like: a veteran of the police force; a veteran of many sports competitions. |
| 2. | a person who has served in a military force, esp. one who has fought in a war: a Vietnam veteran. |
–adjective
| 3. | (of soldiers) having had service or experience in warfare: veteran troops. |
| 4. | experienced through long service or practice; having served for a long period: a veteran member of Congress. |
| 5. | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of veterans. |
Origin:
1495–1505; < L veterānus mature, experienced, equiv. to veter- (s. of vetus) old + -ānus -an
1495–1505; < L veterānus mature, experienced, equiv. to veter- (s. of vetus) old + -ānus -an
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
RANT WARNING
I support the Royal Canadian Legion, and am a member. I support veterans. I support our troops. I wear red on Fridays to show my support. The vast majority of the people I encounter in my day to day life are good, supportive people.
I just need to get this off my chest.
Some legions, as we approach Rememberance day, are calling for volunteers to help, as the "veterans" are getting older, and cannot do as much. I say pitch in, folks! Help out, support the cause.
But maybe some legions need to step back and take a good, long, hard look at what they are really about, and what a veteran is.
This summer, when we were both "home" for the Wolf's block leave, he was talking with some folks at the local legion. He got told he "didn't count" a veteran. Veterans, to some folks, including these particular legion members, were people who had served in WW I, WW II, Korea, the Boer War, or Vietnam. Period. That's it. Closed club. Sorry about all the crap you experienced in the theaters you have been in, soldier, you are not a vet.
He was hurt by this. Very hurt. I was angry.
I can't help but think of this when I hear of Legions crying for help.
I bar tend at our local Legion, and on Fridays we are allowed to wear our red "Support Our Troops" shirts. I have a very nice red golf shirt, with a collar, that has the yellow ribbon and the SoT logo embroidered on it. Tasteful and respectful, IMHO. The older folks in the Legion don't like this, and feel we shouldn't be able to wear our red to work on Fridays. They are not shy at all about pointing it out, to our faces. Not particularly politely, may I add. I have held my tongue thus far.
Maybe, just maybe, the Legions that are crying out for want of volunteers need to take a bit of a look at themselves and the stereotypes they are holding on to. Maybe, just maybe, if they want younger folks involved, they need to stop holding themselves apart from the modern CF family, and the younger generations.
This is, I know for a fact, not true of all Legions. it is, however, true to a degree in many.
Like many of my generation, I have veterans for family and friends. One brother in Vancouver served an honorable term in the CF.
ReplyDeleteAnother brother on Galiano Island served in the US Army and did his time in Viet Nam. Still a brother-in-law served in that war and is minus one leg as a result. My father was a WW2 vet and his father was WW1 and my Great Grandfather and his brothers and father were involved to varying degrees in the Metis Wars in the 1800s. Suzannes father is a Korean vet and she donates to the legion here.
However....I would have run back to Canada had my draft card been called in 1970....to the applause of my brotherand many of my peers. It took him many years to deal with PTSD for he refused to acknowledge it until Sept, 9, 11 triggered a whole array of memories. We cram our suffering into many dark places. If Wolf is looking for acceptance and acclamation from being associated to warriors...he won't find it. I have known many veterans....none of them except the shallowest exhault their roles in war.
That's ridiculous. Have the looked into their bylaws? I can't believe they are correct. Any service member who has served should be able to get into the legion.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the best place for a warrior to find acceptance is on the blogosphere, where thee are many milbloggers. From there, you can meet others face to face. We just had a SWELL time at a milblogger's meeting at the Blog World Expo. I swear, it was like seeing kids coming back to camp, just loving the experience of being together once again.
And I think most of them are very modest. They're articulate and talk about the issues, not themselves or what they have done.
The comment made to my Wolf was not a "rule", just an opinion from the older folks there. It is a common one. The actual rules for the Royal Canadian Legion just state military service, not even necessary to have seen any active deployment or theatre.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe he was looking for acclamation or exultation with his visit. He was looking for brotherhood and acceptance, shared experiences, someone to talk with ... and was rejected ...