What a Veteran Means to Me Essay Example
What is a veteran? The dictionary definition is a person who has served in the military, but I don’t think there is an exact definition of what a veteran is. Also, I don’t think there is any one way to perfectly describe a veteran. To me a veteran is a hero, they are someone who puts their life on the line for others. A veteran to me is an honorable, fearless, and courageous man or woman. Veterans are people who give their wholeheartedness to America no matter what the situation is. A veteran is someone who has the courage to leave their family to protect and keep the people of our country safe and free.
Without veterans, America would not be a free country. Most likely we would be ruled by someone and not have the choices we have today. Every day we have soldiers out in other countries risking their lives to keep terrorists out of America. Every veteran I have talked to, including my grandpa, has told me amazing stories about their days as a soldier. It is crazy to think about putting yourself in a veteran’s position. They have to leave their loved ones behind to do what is right for their country, and I think that is extraordinary. Way too many Americans, including myself, take what veterans have done for our country for granted.
Every single day there are men and women risking everything they have to keep the people of America, they don’t even know safe and protected, to me that is truly a veteran. Anyone who is willing to give up most of their belongings and not see their family for a long time, and to dedicate their lives to keep the country they love safe it’s amazing. For everything they have done I wish I could thank every veteran that has served for America but sadly I cannot. That is the main reason I want to be part of this laying of the wreath ceremony. This is not something you could do every day, and it would make my grandfather so ecstatic.
The Tomb of Unknown Soldiers
The saying on The Tomb of Unknown Soldiers is so upsetting to me. “HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD”. The reason this is upsetting is because of how the soldiers' families must feel. If my grandpa would have died in the Vietnam War, I would probably not be here. My whole world would be different without him. Not to know what happened to him, like the veterans’ families of the people in The Tomb of Unknown Soldiers, would kill me on the inside. I feel so bad for those people who don’t know what happened to their loved ones. I couldn’t imagine what they went through.
Veterans are extraordinary people because of how ordinary and plain they seem to be. Veterans might be somebody’s mother, daughter, brother, or uncle. They may be a father that teaches their son how to fix his car when it broke down. Or a veteran could be a child’s grandpa who turns down his hearing aids when he doesn’t want to listen to his wife. What you don’t realize is that the father’s mechanical skills came from repairing a ship’s engine for 27 hours straight during the Korean war, and the grandpa lost his hearing from gunfire in World War II.
How to Recognize a Veteran
Not a lot of people could pick a veteran out from a crowd. They don’t walk around decked out with their medals on their necks or brag about what they have experienced. You can’t see what they’ve seen, or know what they know. All of this seems to be locked in a box somewhere inside of them, and no one is allowed to see. How, then, are we supposed to distinguish these veterans from ordinary people? How are we supposed to honor them for what they’ve accomplished for our country then? Can it be the veterans don’t expect us to recognize them for what they’ve done? Veterans could just be exceptional people who don’t seek exceptional treatment.
Look around you. Look for that ordinary person that may not be so ordinary. Look for that person who doesn’t stand out in a crowd but deserves to. Look for that selfless individual who gave more than most of us dream of giving. Recognize that person who didn’t look for recognition. You never know that mother, daughter, brother, father, grandpa, or even uncle may be a veteran, and veterans are extraordinary no matter how ordinary they appear to be.
I also want to represent the astronauts, presidents, and many other important people who are in the tomb of unknown soldiers. But, I do have questions. Do any other monuments have the marble besides The Tomb of Unknown Soldiers and the Lincoln Memorial? The tomb has been guarded 24/7 since 1937, so how do they switch out the guards? How did the guards at the tomb get chosen? I really feel like I will do good at this if you chose me.
