Happy Veteran's Day from one Veteran to another

@Bensen32 (27610)
United States
November 11, 2023 10:08am CST
Good day to you, Just wanted to give a shout out to all the Veterans on your day. Appreciate you and thank you for your sacrifices. I think about when people thank me for my sacrifices, I don’t know that I sacrificed all that much really. Yeah, time with family but that’s alright I wasn’t that much of a family person at the time anyways. I guess we all sacrifice something. I always get asked what made you join the Marines. I think if you asked 10 people why they joined the military you might get 10 different answers. You would hear things like family tradition, free education, didn’t want to go on to higher education, wanted to serve my country, had no other opportunities, wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. There are so many different reasons. Personally, I joined for a few reasons. I wanted to get away from my hometown and friends I was hanging out with at the time. I was headed in the wrong direction in life and needed to make a change for the better. Family tradition had something to do with it. The belief that serving your country is a good thing played into it too. Whatever your reason was know that I appreciate that you served your country. I hope you see it as worth the effort you put into it.
5 people like this
5 responses
@porwest (90876)
• United States
12 Nov 23
Happy Veteran's Day to you as well. Didn't know you were a vet, or if I did, I forgot. I was U.S. Navy, USS Enterprise (CVN-65) 1992-1996. Did you ever hear the old joke about what Marines stands for? My a$$ rides in navy equipment and ships. lol
2 people like this
@FourWalls (68014)
• United States
12 Nov 23
Then there’s USMC: Uncle Sam’s Misguided Chidren.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (68014)
• United States
12 Nov 23
@porwest — and they didn’t tell me that little tidbit until AFTER I’d re-enlisted.
2 people like this
@porwest (90876)
• United States
12 Nov 23
@FourWalls lol. Yep. I forgot about that one. Of course, ours was never again volunteer yourself. lol
2 people like this
@FourWalls (68014)
• United States
11 Nov 23
Happy Veterans Day! Salute to you! From your Uber driver (Navy).
2 people like this
@Bensen32 (27610)
• United States
12 Nov 23
Hope your day was well and thank you. LOL, funny I was lucky enough never to have been on a ship and I can't say I am sad about that. :)
1 person likes this
@porwest (90876)
• United States
12 Nov 23
lol. I just commented on the old joke about what Marines was an acronym for. I like your version better. Of course, it fits for the times. lol
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79858)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
11 Nov 23
Happy Veterans Day! Always great to remember such dedicated people. Good for you joining the Marines, A salute to you and proud of you,
2 people like this
@Bensen32 (27610)
• United States
12 Nov 23
Thank you, appreciate that.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Nov 23
Hey, Bensen, man I'm a little late to this discussion, but I wanted to say thank you for your service to our country. You may not feel like it is that big of a deal, or that you made that much of an impact, but you did. And I appreciate that. I've had many veterans say that they served in peace time, and that they felt it didn't count as much as those that served during wartime, or actually went to war. But the way I see it, the second you sign on that dotted line, you committed your whole life to the possibility of going to war, and to sacrifice to serve the interests of our country to protect our freedoms. So no matter what, in my opinion you and every other veteran out there are heroes. So, again, thank you for your service to our country.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Nov 23
@Bensen32 I've heard many veterans say that too. They were in Iraq or Afghanistan, and still feel like they didn't do enough. Like you said, they all felt they were just doing what they signed up to do. But that doesn't undermine the importance of each vet's service. Because of soldiers like you, we have the greatest military in the world, and just by knowing that has kept relative peace throughout the world.
1 person likes this
@Bensen32 (27610)
• United States
16 Nov 23
@moffittjc This is true, I do believe many countries would rather not mess with us or at least in the past more than now due to politics changes. And for the record, I am not a soldier I'm a Marine :)
1 person likes this
@Bensen32 (27610)
• United States
16 Nov 23
Thanks man, yeah, I served in the gulf war and still doesn't seem like I did enough. I don't know, I know a lot of guys that feel the same as I do. I just did what I agreed to do.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
12 Nov 23
And Happy Veterans Day to you. Good to see you. Sounds like you joined for excellent reasons.
1 person likes this
@Bensen32 (27610)
• United States
13 Nov 23
Thank you, yeah, good enough reason as any other. LOL
1 person likes this
@Bensen32 (27610)
• United States
14 Nov 23
@CarolDM Oh you know it, I am just living the dream over here. LOL
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
13 Nov 23
@Bensen32 Hope things are good in your world.
1 person likes this