<p>On the eve of this year’s Remembrance Day, as it’s called here in Canada, I hope we can all put aside our different political opinions for a few minutes, and just express our appreciation for what the men and women in the armed forces are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, and remember all those who came before them in other wars.</p>
<p>Almost everyone in Canada has been wearing red felt poppies for the past couple of weeks. Veterans offer them, for a donation, at tables set up in malls, office buildings, schools. I bought mine from two women in their 80’s who were dressed in their uniforms from WWII. </p>
<p>As I watched CNN today, I saw a story on a young soldier from Kansas, a handsome and eloquent boy who could have been the boyfriend of one of my four Ds. I watched in fascination, listening to him talk about his love of being a soldier and why he was in Iraq. It broke my heart to hear that he had been killed a short time ago, and I sat watching the end of the report through my tears. Please read his story and listen to his words, and remember all the others whose names we don’t know. </p>
<p>Thank you for this poignant reminder. We Americans take so much for granted. The continued freedom to express our political opinions and criticize our nation’s leaders is brought to us courtesy of the unwavering commitment of these brave young men and women who serve our country with dedication and honor. They should be shown our appreciation.</p>
<p>Thanks, AlwaysAMom for the links and also the reminder, which is so important. I couldn’t get the video clip to work but I read the article about this special young man. My husband was just talking about another newstory of a 19 year old from NH also just killed in Iraq and how that young man talked about how he was serving and felt that he belonged there over older guys who were dads and such. And my husband was remarking sadly how young this boy was, about our kids’ ages (our kids are 18 and 20)…way too young to die, especially this way. </p>
<p>Even though I do not support this war, I very much support the troops because these men and women are doing their jobs and they are very courageous and unselfish and are honorably serving our country. Their service is so challenging to themselves and to their families back home. Each day when I read of new soldiers’ deaths, I have a hard time dealing with their loss and it feels so tragic, so senseless. In our little town, we have a field and on that field is a little white flag for each service person who has died in Iraq and unfortunately the flags keep increasing and are spread throughout the field. Please don’t forget these men and women and their sacrifices. I want the rest to all come home and can’t bear that any more lives be lost.</p>
<p>From the “I had no idea the numbers were so large” Department:</p>
<p>“On any given day, about 200,000 veterans live on the streets or in shelters, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. That figure is one-third of the estimated adult homeless population in the nation. Almost all are single men who grew up poor, while nearly half have mental illness.”</p>
<p>Link goes to article about a vet overcame years of living on the streets and established a shelter for other homeless vets. Both the shelter and his own home were ruined by Katrina. Forced to relocate by the storm, he is now rebuilding his home so he can use it a shelter.</p>