Today was an emotional day at work. American flags were flying. Veterans were proudly wearing hats that told what branch of the military they had served in. I engaged them in conversations whenever I could.
One veteran had served 33 years as a nurse in the Navy. He felt particularly concerned about the troops who are serving now in Iraq and Afghanistan. Numerous tours of duty, getting ambushed or blown-up by I.E.Ds, coming home for brief visits with family and then getting jerked back to Afghanistan; all of that is taking a toll on these troops and their families.
Another man had served in the Navy during the Korean "police action." when I remarked that we should have finished the job in North Korea, he reminded me that General McCarthur had been fired by Harry Truman for recommending just that. Harry Truman did a lot of good things (Rumsfeld is an admirer), but that was certainly not one of his most popular decisions.
In fact if we had listened over the years to our military leaders we would be in a much better position than we are.
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