The Last Word

I just returned from Indianapolis where I attended the National VFW Convention. Martin Spani, Commander of Post 1040, and I were at dinner one night at a restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. Martin was wearing his Marine garb (a ball cap that said “Marine”) while I was incognito when a young couple approached us and asked if we were Vietnam vets. We said yes and the young man went on to say that he, too, was a Marine veteran and had served in the Gulf War. Upon returning from the war many of the folks who were on hand to greet him were Vietnam veterans. He went on to say that the country learned an important lesson following the Vietnam war; if you disagree with the country’s political decision, blame the politicians, not the military. But that lesson was learned on the backs of the Vietnam veterans. It was the result of the country reflecting on its treatment of those earlier veterans that his generation of veterans was treated with respect. We thanked him for his gratitude and his service, but both of us were taken aback as nothing like that had happened in the 40 plus years following our service there. The young couple left and, later, as we were leaving and asking for our check, the waitress told us it was covered by the young veteran and his wife.