As I write this “opine,” it is just about midnight down in Ft. Myers, Florida, and I am composing this from the house of a fellow veteran and Army buddy. My friend is now facing life tethered to a long, thin oxygen hose that he depends on to get him through his days while managing COPD.
I have not been able to see him in over 45 years, and as it has been a bittersweet reunion, we felt like a (smaller) “Band of Brothers” once again! With most “vets,” you can tell that they were military when you first walk into their homes. IT IS NOT that they are bragging or boasting of their once Airborne (or military) status. With us, the sense that we still love our country and are proud of what we were still means a lot!
And I must now add that last week’s “opine” was spurred on by another friend who served in the U.S. Navy Submarine fleet. He is in his 90s and still has a “fresh” love for his country!
As my Ft. Myers friend caught me up on decades of personal / family happenings, his words and actions speak loud, that he, like me, would do it all over again if the need and “call” was there. With a needed change in command with Pres. Donald J. Trump and the younger Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, a fresh push is on for not only the military but other key posts as well.
As many of you readers can attest to, listening to the “talking +urd$” spew their lies day after day was not only infuriating, it was demoralizing to both the military AND civilian masses! Watching the new Secretary of Defense get out there in formation with the troops on a cold winter’s morning to do physical training is keeping the morale up of many of the service members who are watching him to see if he indeed is “the REAL DEAL” (which HE IS)!
Before Pres. Trump took back control, many of us “old timers” wondered how the Armed Forces were going to get (and keep) a lethal attitude, what with all of the “DEI” diversions that were previously infecting and affecting our combined Armed Forces. Speaking for myself, I can say that I am feeling a lot better! In closing, I would like to thank the many (other) veterans who also remembered their oaths to this country.
Many of us cannot charge out of a six-foot-deep foxhole on some front lines of a given battle. We can, however, line up to help get those crucial voters into the polling centers (and most of us are still pretty good shots with our firearms)! Let’s hope and pray that it never comes to us having to be put to that task again!
May God bless all of you readers and especially the “vets!” Thank you for still loving this country enough to still “talk the talk and walk the walk!”
Steve Goodwin is a retired Christian conservative veteran (of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division), who still feels that “duty to country” did not end when the military uniform got hung up. He and his wife Cecelia live on the edge of a beautifully wooded tract of land just south of the bypass, and are involved in not only church activities, but also attend school board meetings and local community action events as well.
