Interesting Comments From a Marine Major

A guy gets time to think over here and I was thinking about all the
support we get from home. Sometimes it's overwhelming. We get care
packages at times faster than we can use them. There are boxes and boxes
of toiletries and snacks lining the center of every tent; the generosity
has been amazing.

So, I was pondering the question: "Why do we have so much support?" In
my opinion, it came down to one thing: Vietnam. I think we learned a
lesson, as a nation, that no matter what, you have to support the troops
who are on the line, who are risking everything. We treated them so
poorly back then. When they returned was even worse. The stories are
nightmarish of what our returning warriors were subjected to. It is a
national scar, a blemish on our country, an embarrassment to all of us.
After Vietnam, it had time to sink in. The guilt in our collective
consciousness grew. It shamed us. However, we learned from our mistake.
Somewhere during the late 1970's and into the 80's, we realized that we
can't treat our warriors that way. So, starting during the Gulf War,
when the first real opportunity arose to stand up and support the
troops, we did. We did it to support our friends and family going off to
war. But we also did it to right the wrongs from the Vietnam era. We
treated our troops like the heroes they were, acknowledged and
celebrated their sacrifice, and rejoiced at their homecoming instead of
spitting on them.

And that support continues today for those of us in Iraq. Our country
knows that it must support us and it does. The lesson was learned in
Vietnam and we are better because of it.

Everyone who has gone before is a hero. They are celebrated in my heart.
I think admirably of all those who have gone before me. From those who
fought to establish this country in the late 1770's to those I serve
with here in Iraq. They have all sacrificed to ensure our freedom.

But when I get back, I'm going to make it a personal mission to
specifically thank every Vietnam Vet I encounter for their sacrifice.
Because if nothing else good came from that terrible war, one thing did.
It was the lesson learned on how we treat our warriors. We as a country
learned from our mistake and now treat our warriors as heroes, as we
should. I am the beneficiary of their sacrifice. Not only for the
freedom they, like veterans from other wars, ensured, but for how well
our country now treats my fellow Marines and I. We are the beneficiaries
of their sacrifice.

Semper Fidelis, Major Brian P. Bresnahan United States Marine Corps