Which brings us to this week’s two important singularly American anniversaries: The 234th birthday of our Marine Corps (Nov. 10, 1775) – a very special day for me and every other active, Reserve, retired, and former Marine (there are no ex-Marines) – and Veterans Day, which honors all U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen.
What is it about military veterans that makes them – us – different from non-veterans, in a way that is perhaps impossible to understand if you are a non-veteran, and equally impossible for veterans to adequately describe? In other words, why would young men like Yale and Haerter make a “last stand” as they did when they were clearly just as afraid as anyone else would be in the same set of circumstances (Remember, courage is not the absence of fear: It is doing what one knows to be right despite the fear.)?
Does it mean they – and generally speaking, all – military veterans are somehow better human beings than non-veterans? Absolutely not. No one is born a soldier, though I do believe some people are predisposed to military service.
Harrington quotes the late Col. John W. Ripley, also a Navy Cross recipient, who said:
“Every Marine understands that in war he will be asked, and expected, to do the impossible. He will do his duty while ignoring physical hardship, personal danger and sacrifice, and the certainty of his reward. He will do this simply because it is expected of a Marine – his Corps and his country expect nothing less. And he will always honor the reputation established by the great Marines who preceded him.”
So perhaps it as simple as “legacy.” But within that legacy, there are the instilled soldierly virtues of honor (and honor’s sub-virtues of honesty, loyalty, integrity, and a sense of justice), courage (we could talk all day on this), and commitment, which brings us full-circle back to Yale and Haerter, their commitment to protecting the Corps’ legacy, their commitment to their buddies, and their commitment to defending their dusty little posts on that fateful day.
On this Veterans Day, let’s remember to thank God for this legacy – which far too many of us take for granted – for without it, there would-and-will be no America.