Redneck said:after you get an MOH you've kind of earned the right to all the recognition you could ever possibly get.
Jeez, no kidding. My father wears his lapel pins during certain occasions.
Redneck said:after you get an MOH you've kind of earned the right to all the recognition you could ever possibly get.
DTop said:You're right about the lapel pins. I have worn those on Memorial Days and to certain Veterans Groups' functions. Outside of fellow veterans, nobody's even taken notice as far as I could tell.
I don't see how protesting against a war that they see as unjustified in anyway dishonors the soldiers who are to fight it. You can protest a war, and still support the troops.
Doody said:I don't see how protesting against a war that they see as unjustified in anyway dishonors the soldiers who are to fight it. You can protest a war, and still support the troops.
I just got up after working 12 hours on the night shift, so I have enough time to comment on this for now.
The great thing about being a anti war protestor is "you are in the United States." After you get done protesting, you get to go home to a warm bed, your loved ones, your car, food of your choosing, green vegetation, any activity that your heart desires, news of your choosing, ect ect ect. You have every freedom that the US has to offer. The soldier that an anti war protestor is "supporting" has a much different outlook on life.
We, the soldier, are thousands of miles from home, eating food that is given to us, washing clothes in buckets, taking showers in nasty tailors used by hundreds daily, sometimes with bottled water because the water system goes down, getting mail that is weeks old, only allowed to watch 3 minutes of the super bowl because the satellite feed went down, forced to wait in lines for 1-3 hours to shop at the PX, forced to wait longer for phone calls late at night because of the 8 hour time zone difference, getting news from print outs at HQ because there are no TV's on base and forced to sleep with in arms reach of 2 of your buddies. Keep in mind that this was some of the things that I experience BEFORE the war.
Picture how you feel from what I experienced in Kuwait. Then how would you feel when you start to see anti war protestors from home. Some of them burring flags, others with signs saying we are baby killers, killing for oil, others acting like complete fools. My mom sent me news papers almost every day. One picture from Maine pissed off old SGT Doody. There were a bunch of protestors around a Civil War monument. The monument had been vandalized with spray paint. There was a peace sign and a weed leaf painted on the statue. What a way to “support the soldiers.” Now my memory might be off, but I remember who were leading the thousands of anti war protestors. It wasn’t government officials, or teachers, policemen, businessmen, most veterans…it was very famous people. Many of those famous people were from Hollywood. Those people who are very rich and live in multi million dollar houses. Some of them said they were ashamed to be an American. How dare they say that when they are "living it up" in America. Thus the reason why I loved the Charlie Daniels letter so much. I read a headline about it in a newspaper and had my brother send me a copy from home. An overwhelming majority of soldiers were motivated by Mr. Daniels’ words.
Lastly, if the average anti war protestor actually supported the troops, where was the drive for care packages? If you did not know, care packages are one of the best ways to support a troop overseas. It’s like sending a soldier a little piece of America. Where was the drive at the San Francisco rally to send soldiers a little piece of America to enjoy? My half brother, who was in the protests, loves to tell me that they “were the biggest in the world.” He never mentions anything about actually supporting the troops. I can tell you were most of the care packages came from. They came from small towns, small cities and small businesses all across America. My unit never received a package from Washington DC, New York, San Francisco, HOLLYWOOD, or any other big city. They were sent from places I cannot find on a map. Those are the people who really support the troops.
I am just telling the view of anti war protestors from the view of one Sergeant who has been there. For me and most of my fellow soldiers, protesting is not our idea of support.
SGT Doody
DTop said:Your posts (or anyone else's) will survive as long as they are respectful of other members. Differences of opinion are certainly allowed.
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