Up north here in Canada November 11, Remembrance Day is a somber day we recognize the service of our living Vets and remember those who have died defending our freedom and our country's values. In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Lest We Forget They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. Here is a link that might be useful: In Flanders Fields

Thank you Lynn. In my opinion, not enough people realize how lucky we are to live in our great country, how fragile is our civilization, and that there have been/are/& will be ideologies that would like to see us go under. God bless our veterans & soldiers for doing the hard work to ensure our safety.

I think of my dad, who, right after high school graduation with peach fuzz on his chin and the war in the Pacific still on, reported for induction. As did his classmates. The war ended just before he got there to be part of the occupying forces. Imagine, there was no talk in the school halls of "what schools are you applying to?" Everyone knew they were going into the armed forces. And I think of my FIL, who escaped from a German POW camp and ultimately fought with the liberation forces, but in the end he couldn't go home to his own country. and I think of the young men and women now, who join, aren't drafted. Thanks to all of you.

"Our people, whether enlisted or drafted, most of them tried to do what they felt was the right thing to do." About half of the men I served with during my initial active duty period in the Army were draftees. All were bitter in varying degrees about having been unwillingly uprooted from their civilian lives and forced to go into the military and potentially into mortal jeopardy. Other draftees I knew, classmates, work colleagues, brothers of friends, all felt the same way. Some while unhappy about having been drafted tried to make the best of their active duty experiences to protect their own backsides. Some didn't. I have extensive personal experiences to share on this particular topic and I doubt that you do. I was in a medical reserve unit for the majority of my enlistment term. There was a large contingent of physicians who had been drafted but assigned to inactive rather than active duty. I got to know many and among them, a large percentage had been "encouraged" by the Selective Service system to go to a graduate or professional school to continue their draft deferments as students and so wound up in medical school. Many were similarly bitter about having been ultimately drafted as doctors, it wasn't what they had envisioned the outcome of their medical school draft dodging to be. A doctor treating a patient will always be a doctor treating a patient, no matter what the circumstances, but none of those I met were happy about having a military obligation. As you didn't directly answer my question about whether your husband had been drafted, I will assume that was his pathway into the military. "But, I truly believe that without them, we would already be a minion of China." Is Germany a minion of China? How about Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, France, on and on. None of these countries has been as irresponsible with their military as the US has and as previously stated, all of them have prosperity and freedom similar to what's in the US. I think the upshot of all of this is that there are veterans whose military service defined their lives and who are ready to don their old uniforms and march in Veterans Day parades. Some who had bad experiences that perhaps didn't trigger a lifetime of hyperpatriotism but did leave them with bad memories. There are others, myself included, who look back on their military service as being the result of bad luck without too series consequences (certainly true during the draft years) or a youthful mistake and who have moved on. A vet is a vet but don't assume all are happy to get a handshake or pat on the back, many I know really couldn't care less.