Veterans Essay

Ronald Reagan once said, “We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of the ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause.” Another way of saying this is, we honor those who have died, or those who have served, for our country. Our veterans are special.

                My aunt was friends with a veteran from first grade on. His name was Adam Dobereiner and was born November 21^st, 1989. In his family, there was a long line of military service and after he graduated high school in 2008, he enrolled in the military in 2010. There, he graduated as a Combat Engineer. A year later he was deployed to Afghanistan on July 6^th. He died November 18^th, 2011 in Kandahar Province of Afghanistan. Three days away from his 22^nd birthday. He had been driving a military vehicle on a mission to free two villages from Taliban control when the vehicle was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device.

                When I asked my aunt, “Are you honored to have been Adam’s friend?” she said, “Absolutely.” After I asked her why, she said “because he was a good man with a big heart and he never faltered from what he thought was right.” My aunt said that he was a hero before he was considered a hero; that he had saved her from multiple bad situations she had found herself in. His family agreed with her on two things about Adam: one, he was a hero to everyone he could be, and two that he was a great man in general. My aunt is proud overall that he was a veteran. He served his country, along with his many family members before him. She’s proud that he did something for his country and made the best of it. She is proud that he let the things that he saw happen didn’t change him. But she hates that he joined in the first place because she lost him so quickly.

                My aunt got to speak to Adam two days before he was sent on his last mission; the entire time she wasn’t worried that he would pass soon. He had always assured her he was fine. Like Adam, so many of our veterans die for us. It was estimated that just in World War II, we lost 407,000 veterans. 407,000 people who gave their lives up to keep us safe and alive. Without those 407,000 people, we might not have the same country today; some of us might not even be alive. Though, yes it hurts, and their families have suffered, I’m thankful they served. These 50 states are our country; they are our home. Those 407,000 people believed that and fought for that. As of 2018, 18.2 million living veterans served during at least one war.

             

   “War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children,” Jimmy Carter had once said. War takes veterans; peace takes veterans. Veterans are special. They have to be willing to give up their lives like Adam or be ready to witness deaths. Veterans must be brave and ready to face injuries; they have to be ready to see people injured or killed and continue in the wars they are in. I challenge you to thank a veteran when you see them. I challenge you thank them for their putting their lives in risk and for coming back in one piece. Our veterans are loved, they are heroes. They are peace; they are war; they are safety. Most of all, veterans are special.