Thoughts for Veterans Day. Fifty-seven years ago, I entered the brotherhood of being “a veteran.” I was a 20-year-old Army sergeant, and had been home from Vietnam for just days, discharged from active duty and my required military service.
Within months following my high school graduation, I had received my dreaded draft notice and was sworn into the Army…that was October 1966. Having neither the scholastic record nor the finances required for a college deferment, as so many had, that was my fate. I was one of nearly half a million young Americans drafted that month!
Veterans of that war and that era seldom, if ever, heard anyone say, “Thank you for your service.” Many things were often said, but most were not printable and not worthy of so much as a “You’re welcome.”
But this Veterans Day, I want to clear the air and say “Thank you,” especially to those with whom I served in the central highlands of Vietnam up through the demilitarized zone to the border of then-North and South Vietnam. You have had an incredible impact on my life. At a young age, we who enlisted or were drafted had the unique experience of being transformed into soldiers, sailors, marines, or airmen — we became part of a ‘UNIT’ — exposed to leadership of many kinds, committed to a mission, and most importantly, committed to trust each other.
We were pushed beyond any self-imposed limits and, at times, frightened to the core of our being. However, by virtue of our training and responsibility to each other, we performed as our country expected of us — some above and beyond expectation. All hardships, pain, and grief were shared. It was the ultimate experience to serve with Americans of all backgrounds, races, and education levels. It was true “DEI” decades before anyone would ever hear the term!
That was the expectation of service to our country. Now, the elimination of the draft — and its randomness of being called up for duty — has diminished the understanding of this service, which involved training and working with soldiers from every geographic corner of our country.
The professional military is an absolute necessity — but it should not single-handedly bear the entire burden. Citizen soldiers, pulled from the ranks of the general population, have contributed and served honorably and heroically over many decades in many wars going back to our nation’s founding.
The multiple deployments endured by the professional military during the post-9/11 conflicts have had and continue to take a tragic toll. Going forward, I believe this should be a shared burden. Further, without conscription, our elected officials are given an easy out to start wars with little political blowback. “We have a professional military; they will do as we say, and nobody else will be bothered.”
In my opinion, if we as a nation sometimes have to commit to another extended armed conflict, we should all potentially have skin in the game. By failing to do so, our elected officials will never have a reasoned debate as to whether we should get involved in conflict.
When I returned from Vietnam in 1968, at age 20, I could not vote (nor could I buy a beer!) in most states. But I returned with an experience that is with me to this day. Initially, it was survivors’ guilt, but, eventually, it evolved into survivors’ responsibility: We have been given the days that our fallen and critically wounded comrades were denied. All veterans share the core values of trust, respect, and responsibility.
Veterans know: All gave some, some gave all.
Thank you for your service. And a special callout to the dedicated staff and professionals at the White River Junction VA Medical Center, one of the best in the nation, in my experience.
Dick Sweeney was a medic and later a team leader with the 52d Infantry LRP (Long Range Patrol) Rangers in Vietnam from October 1967 to October 1968. His father, an aunt, and several uncles served in World War I and World War II. Mr. Sweeney’s brother served during the Cold War, and several nephews served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. His nephew Paul, U.S. Army 3rd Special Forces Group, was killed in action on Oct. 30, 2003. a memory that inspired today’s thoughts. Mr. Sweeney went on to college under the GI Bill and was a co-founder of the Massachusetts/Vermont-based Keurig coffee company. He lives in Taftsville with his wife, Mary Ann.
