Its Veterans Day. Welcome home brothers and sisters.

Your sacrifices will never be fully understood by the general public. Today is the day that our exceptional adversities courage and devotion are at least recognized. Veterans day should be every day. Don't get me wrong, a day of focused honor strictly for veterans is great. Troops don't fight for our country one day a year though. My point is that there are thousands of men and women, young and old that suffer in silence every day of their life because of their experiences during their service time. Many are too proud to admit their distress, even to themselves let alone anyone else. Some don't want to bother other people with their issues. I myself believed no one could help me because they couldn't possibly understand what I went through because they themselves didn't go through it. I still believe that to some degree. A random act of kindness and reaching out to a veteran on a random day throughout the year could mean more than a hundred years worth of parades and ceremonies. The personal connection is so much more valuable meaningful and helpful than planned ceremonies and parades where theres no real engagement. I see it as a kind of detached thank you. don't misunderstand me, they are fun and I do enjoy them sometimes. They do have value. The value is more for the public and local governments as far as I am concerned though. The kids love them and they are great teaching moments to educate children about what it means to be a veteran and what they do for this country. The city council or whatever board gets a sense of feel good self satisfaction for doing something for veterans and the community. The vendors make a bunch of money selling overpriced items to people who probably really cant afford it. In my opinion, the origins of this day were very honorable and well intended. Like anything else today though it has either been politicized or turned into a "hallmark holiday" of marketing and revenue or just lost its real meaning and intent.
Granted a parade or ceremony will give the vets involved a sense of pride and honor, They don't do much in helping to deal with physical, psychological and emotional issues that were caused by what they are being honored for. In other words, I guess I see the ceremonies and parades as superficial.

I really went down a different road than intended with this article. Please know that these are my own personal feelings as a United States Marine Corps combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I love Veterans day, I always have. My dad is a Vietnam War veteran and we always went to the parades when I was a kid. I have many great memories from them. All I'm saying , in a long roundabout way, is, don't forget the veterans after Veterans Day. And for the vets reading this, we need to help each other. The only people that can understand what a combat veteran has gone through is another combat veteran. If you suffer from combat related ptsd and have learned coping skills and methods to help ease the burden of living with it then, you should reach out to your brothers and sisters and try to pass that knowledge on to help those that are still harshly afflicted. Those of my brothers and sisters that are suffering in silence, PLEASE, ask for help. It is out there but it wont come to you. Although the people closest to you might be able to recognize that you are not the same and you are hurting inside. Most people wont notice, especially if you are trying your hardest to hide it. I can say from experience that this method will not work. I tried for three years to just deal with it by self medicating and eventually attempted suicide. I am so thankful to the first responders and doctors that gave everything they had to ensure that it was a suicide attempt and not a successful suicide. I still have symptoms of ptsd but, today I can deal with that in many different ways. I now am a very proud full custody single dad of the most beautiful intelligent and friendly four year old girl. Some days she is the only thing that keeps me going. It really doesn't have to come to suicide for you though. For me that was when I finally admitted that I needed help. I got it and things got better. It wasn't a miracle fix. Its not immediate and its not easy but, it gets better. For me it was little by little with an occasional breakthrough here and there. You just need to ask for help. Semper Fi brothers and sisters of all branches and all conflicts