THEY WERE SOLDIERS

They were fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors and more. They were farmers, grocers, carpenters, lawyers, doctors and any other occupation that you could name. They came from the big city, the small town and way out in the country. They might be college educated or high school dropouts. None of that mattered to them; when their country needed them, they were soldiers. They wore the uniform with pride and carried the weapon as though not only theirs, but many other lives depended on it, and they did. They lived in barracks, tents, foxholes, etc. – wherever their duties required them to be in order to accomplish the job that they had trained for. They endured heat, cold, rain, snow and whatever the world threw at them, depending on where they were serving. They laughed, they cried, they suffered, they endured and they kept on going as long as necessary. As long as their country called, they answered. Then and now, they deserve honor, respect, recognition and gratitude for their willingness to leave all and go who-knew-where to do something that not many of them would ever have chosen to do. Whether they died on the battlefield or returned home; sometimes to a hero’s welcome and sometimes not, they deserve to be remembered. Whether they served in a world war, a conflict, or a peace-keeping mission, they deserve to be remembered. Because they left home in order to protect the homeland, they deserve to be remembered. They were soldiers.