We all know people who have served, or we are beneficiaries of the service by others who gave us freedom, hope, equality and justice. I suppose if one were realistic, they would say we honor those who sacrificed for others, yet wonder about those who ignore the sacrifices and do things that are not in the public interest.
When I was young I lived to have the opportunity to defend freedom. My career in both sports and education were preparation for joining the military. Even as I was playing basketball at the University of Arizona I was immersed in an intensive Reserve Officer Training Program to prepare me for the inevitable service during the Vietnam war.
However, Divine Providence has other ideas for us on occasion so at the moment I volunteered for the draft armed only with exceptional ratings in ROTC, they discovered my body had been permanently damaged from 15 years of intensive sports achievement.
Rather than military service, I was confined to public service and spent much of the next three decades working in government and politics at all levels from local, to state, to national offices. It was a far cry from my dream but at least a way to make sure we could enjoy the opportunities given to us by our patriotic and dedicated military.
So this weekend, as I do every year, I will honor our fallen heroes. I will honor those who have not fallen but gave up their lives for us through injury and stress and will never be able to lead a normal life. I will honor the families of those heroes whose lives were changed forever by wars halfway around the world.
Here is a song I wrote to honor those heroes. It is performed by my band, Nashville Bound. I hope you take the time to listen to it. The name of the song is "No One's Left Keeping Score." Click on the link below to hear it.
