LEST WE FORGET...
A wide variety of Americans serve their nation loyally and with valor. This is one such group...
Not many people know that there are conscientious objectors serving in the most dangerous military zones of Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. And there have been for wars throughout our history. There are Quakers, for example, who tend to wounded soldiers on the battlefield. Many of them spend their entire young lives serving in this way.
There are a group of Quakers and pacifists who have been lobbying to get funds for veterans coming home with severe injuries from war. Multiple limbs lost. Face mutilated. Post traumatic syndrome. Severe brain injuries. Crippled and maimed in many different ways. They are often treated in a VA medical facility, given drugs to help with the pain and mutilations. And after a time, they are sent home where a spouse or parent will have to take care of them around the clock forever. These Quakers and pacifists are fighting to get these family caretakers some financial compensation and respite. Their need to care for their loved ones renders them so tied down that they cannot hold a regular job. So they suffer, as do the injuired veteran. Lack of funds has led to a desperate situation. So much for patriotic support.
We hear little about the volunteers who help many returning vets. But many vets do not get any help or insufficient help, and their caretakers leave their job and go into destitution serving their loved one. The VA does what it can, often with limited funds. Regular volunteers often do the simpler and less demanding servicing. But there are those who go beyond that. And they witness on behalf of veterans and their beleagured families.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to those people who, for religious conviction, do not do the actual fighting in wars, but nevertheless provide a needed and valiant service. And they sometimes serve in heroic roles to service our servicemen and servicewomen.
Let us not forget these people. They do not announce to the world their efforts. There is no chest-pounding with these silent heroes. They are real. They serve in quiet dedication to the men and women who have done heoric military service. They are real men and women who serve without citations and medals. They are not phony patriots. They are the real deal.
