I am sure that my earlier ancestors were not in in for the income. In fact, being in the military is not the way to make a lot of money, unless of course you write a book and a movie is made. Some just seem destined to fall in line and become part of the history that is America's Military men and women. For some the idea is what drove them. For some it was a way to escape and see distant lands. For some it was what you did. Some were caught up in world events. World events that took over what they wanted to do. Uncle Sam had other ideas.
It is easy to forget that the earliest veterans were in the eyes of others traitors and not patriots. They raised their fists against what they considered tyranny and helped to build a new nation. How horrific it must have been to see brother fight brother across the blue and grey line. Can we understand the fear of being a dough-boy or a GI? How did they survive the years of separation and the horrors of World Wars? How lonely it must have been standing guard in Korea in the winter or laying in the rice paddies of Viet Nam.
Now the desert of the Middle East and the War on Terror are making new veterans. Each war is different as each veteran is different. Each serves his or her country, the reason known to them alone. On this Veteran's Day take a moment to remember those that came before and are serving still. It is because of them that we are FREE.
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| Robert Marion Smith |
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| Phil Young |
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| George Richard Smith |
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| Jessie Osborne |
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| Arthur Bonham |
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| Gerald Joseph Bonham |
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| Elias Babcock |
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| Milledge Luke Bonham |
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| Romulus Calhoun Bonham |
To Those Who Served: Remembered and Forgotten
