Reply #38: There are those who guard the gates during tumultuous times...

[rasputin1952]

those who are willing to use some of their time here on earth to protect the nation, are unseen, anonymous. Even the dead are brought home, not to a tearful welcome from those whom they've served, but rather in a distinct silence, a silence brought on by the current "Commander in Chief".

It is a time in which we should honor these men and women, not only with our grateful thanks, but by bringing them home from a war that that was conceived in lies in obfuscations, and is more of an attempt at neo-colonial expansion, paid for with the blood of our nation's youth.

As a veteran, I know what these men and women do, I know the hardships they face, I know what their families feel. As a citizen, I know that our defenses are now down, I know that there are enemies outside the gates waiting for weakness; a weakness brought on by a mad fool that thinks he king.

I have heard Taps far too many times, for those I've known personally, and those who've worn the uniforms of this nation. It is not an error that those who cry for war, never have taken the opportunity to serve with brave men and women...there lies the fallacy of this situation. Those who have manned the gates know what I mean. Cold lonely nights, waiting, watching. Hot Summer days filled with dreary rain, waiting, watching. Christmas' lost. Children's birthdays passed without the warmth of the hearth or the first steps of a toddler missed because duty called.

These men and women serve us everyday, they should never be forgotten, and one falls or is wounded to the extent their duty can no longer, they have stood up for us, regardless of where they have been sent. It is not the duty of a soldier, airman, sailor or Marine to question why they have been sent, it is their duty to serve, and they have served well.

It is for us, the people they protect, to hold the officials that have sent them there, would keep them there and hide their return from us that we must hold accountable. This is our duty to them our, responsibility.