Girl Clown Dancing
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

Thank You

9/2/2018

18 Comments

 
Picture
​I had a conversation with a stranger the other day, and I’m glad I did.
 
Doing so was safe.  It was a sunny afternoon and I was pumping gas into my compact silver SUV.  A vehicle pulled up behind mine, and the driver got out of his car to fill up, too. 
 
He was wearing camouflage green Army fatigues.  I waited until I caught his eye.  “Thank you for your service,” I said.
 
There was a beat.  “Oh,” he replied.  “Thank you.  I really appreciate you saying that.”
 
As I drove away, I wondered how often soldiers are approached by unknown civilians like me, saying those five words.  I hope it’s a lot—especially when I also recalled how rare it was for Vietnam vets to hear this greeting.  Instead, many came home to angry protestors spitting on them and calling them baby killers. 
 
I hope we never again engage in a war so divisive and unpopular.   Although I’m not a fan of armed conflict (I like the bumper sticker that reads I’m Already Against the Next War), our soldiers deserve to hear that we support them. 
 
That’s because while I may not agree with the cause, these fearless folks are still serving our country in situations that, at best, are intensely boring and monotonous.  At worst, they’re stationed in the sketchiest parts of the world, where they could be killed in an instant.      
 
But mostly, soldiers deserve my respect because they’re brave in other ways that most of us never have to be. 
 
Perhaps, early on, they saw no viable future in the hardscrabble communities—places including the South Side of Chicago; Native American reservations in the Dakotas, and hollers in West Virginia—where they were born and raised. The military offers these populations a way to get out.    
 
And there are other reasons, probably more common than we think.  
 
Rob Scheer is the founder of Comfort Cases, a Maryland-based non-profit that gifts new backpacks, blankets and books to foster kids.  But when he was 18 years old, a high school senior and newly kicked out of the foster system himself, Scheer found himself homeless.
 
He signed up for the Navy.  “I didn’t join the military because I loved my country,” he says.  “I was going in it because I was hungry, I was cold, I was scared, and I had nowhere to go.” 
 
Women might have other motives. 
 
Maybe they’re escaping an abusive boyfriend, father or husband.  Or perhaps not college bound, they see dead end futures as fast food workers and receptionists.  In fact, a 2017 Pew Research Center report states that 15 percent of our active personnel are women, up four points from 1990.   
 
Then, there’s this.
 
Years before same sex marriage was legal, I knew two Air Force veterans, both lesbians (although not a couple).  By the time I’d had met them, they’d already figured out that being supported by a man wasn’t ever going to be in their picture.  So they joined the service and were taught skills that turned into well-paying jobs after leaving the military.  
 
Another demographic, and it’s a growing one, is middle class young men and women who want to attend a university, but don’t want crippling student loan debt. 
 
That’s where the GI Bill comes in: created in 1944, it provides up to three years of education while a soldier is on active duty.  Veterans can also take advantage of the bill, because funding is good for 15 years following military release.  This means that with careful planning, a serviceman can obtain an undergraduate degree with zero debt.  Those who take advantage of the program are obligated to serve for four years in exchange for tuition, but it’s still a good deal. 
 
The back stories of how and why our military personnel came to wear their uniforms are as unique as each soldier. 
 
None of us can ever know every story.   As for me, I’ll just thank a soldier whenever I can. 
 
It’s the least I can do.   
18 Comments
Susan Stewart
9/2/2018 04:31:33 pm

Cogent, well-written, honest, and relevant! Thank you for reminding us how different every soldier is.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
9/2/2018 06:56:57 pm

Thank you.

Reply
Julie Towery
9/2/2018 08:38:47 pm

I'm 76 years old. I have voted in almost every election (City, State, US) since I was old enough to. I'm depressed about the state of the country and the fact that so many people didn't register or vote. There are so many issues that affect us all, and people don't seem to care. I'm home bound here in California and I hope to find ways of getting out the vote and finding others who care.

Reply
Hilary Grant
9/2/2018 09:25:19 pm

People DO care. I am confident that if everyone VOTES, there will be a huge BLUE WAVE in November. Contact your local League of Women Voters; I bet they can put you to work. :)

Reply
kerri fisher
9/2/2018 10:07:51 pm

Thanks for posting - absolutely my favorite so far, and that is saying alot, since every one is terrific. I was glued to the television for the McCain service, and was so moved. The songs were familiar, having been to church at a naval base, and memories came flooding back, as well as a flood of pride for my dad, who retired from the navy. I also thank servicemen whenever there is a chance, for they deserve it.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
9/3/2018 12:03:06 pm

And, as someone who was part of a military family growing up, you get it more than most. Thanks for your comment! : )

Reply
Larry Grant
9/3/2018 10:56:26 am

Thank you for writing this. It is very timely. Recognizing that every service member, every person, has their own story is so important.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
9/3/2018 12:05:21 pm

And there are other "categories" of service members I didn't mention. My parents were active duty in WWII--and like Scheer, they didn't join because they had a great love for their country. it was more that they were desperate to leave their cloying parents, and saw it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. And, it was.

Reply
kimberly fonturbel
9/3/2018 11:26:32 am

I enjoyed this piece a lot. Thank You Hilary!

Reply
Hilary A Grant
9/3/2018 12:06:33 pm

Thank you! I began writing this several weeks ago, but with John McCain's passing, it seemed like the right time to post. : )

Reply
Susan Jordan
9/3/2018 09:08:10 pm

I think this is often true - that young people without as many options often enter the military after high school because it's a way to get ahead somehow. I believe that was true for my two older brothers, neither of whom was headed for college. They learned discipline and some good job skills in their four years in the Navy.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
9/3/2018 09:50:08 pm

For those w/ the right temperament, signing up for the military is absolutely a terrific option. I've known a few people who, like your brothers, were not headed off to college. But they were SMART, and, in their case, the military was a very good fit. : )

Reply
Terry Simons link
9/4/2018 10:45:31 am

This is my first read of your blog--I will be looking at your others and hoping for the same quality of well crafted wordsmithing in your future posts.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
9/4/2018 04:20:37 pm

Thank you! Feel free to look at past blogs under ARCHIVES. They're categorized by month, topics all over the place, with some being longer than others. These days, though, I'm trying to rein the word count into the (approximately!) 600 word arena. :)

Reply
leslie spoon
9/4/2018 09:39:02 pm

Hilary That was great. Thank you!!! Leslie

Reply
Hilary A Grant
9/5/2018 03:26:41 pm

You're most welcome. :)

Reply
Andrea Peck
10/25/2018 10:13:11 pm

Very thoughtful. You are right, we don't really know the hidden circumstances pushing many people to join the military. I too am not in favor of war and the idea of sending our youth makes me cringe, but each one certainly deserves our respect and support.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
10/27/2018 05:38:53 pm

A dear friend of mine is a retired Army captain who served in Vietnam. The pension he gets from that has allowed him to pursue another business--he's one of the best polygraph examiners in the country. Also, these days, the statistics of someone NOT ever seeing a battlefield are something like 91 percent. At one point, he was trying to encourage me to get Katie to join the military. That's not her wheelhouse so it never even came close to happening, but for some, the military provides structure and can mean a good life for a long time.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
    ​

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Blogaversaries
    Doing It Right
    Food
    Holidays
    Living Life
    Miscellany
    My Girl
    People
    Reading
    Remembering
    Taking Care
    Traveling

    Archives

    December 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.