A Birthday Card to America

I'd like to say I looked forward to joining the Army, being shipped 8,000 miles away, and shooting at little short guys I'd never met.  And hoped to never meet.

I'd like to say that but I can't.

What I can say is I did my very best to avoid the draft.  I attended five colleges, but chose not to actually attend classes.  They seemed to expect that.  I was too busy shooting pool and picking the pockets of folks who thought they could pick mine.  That kept my 2-S deferment active until I reached the magic 5 and 1/2 years, at which time my draft deferment ended.  And I received a letter from the Gubmint which opened with, 

"Greetings."

Choosing not to permit them to draft me, I enlisted to become a sniper.  Until they told me my glasses would steam over in 100 degree heat and 100% humidity while I was low-crawling though two foot-tall grass.  Fortunately, I'd done well on my entrance exams.  Well enough for Army Intelligence (no laughter here) to rescue me.  And my amazing Army career then began to unfold.  Ending with me being awarded the Army Commendation Medal.

Ummm, wha...?

To back up a bit, I was born in Kansas City, but raised in the tiny town of Bosworth, Missouri.  A town of 200 people.  Then my folks moved me to Chillicothe, which was proud of its 9,800 residents.  So my view of the U.S. of A. was seen until my young twenties through the prism of Small Town, America.

I managed to grow older without growing up, I'm afraid to say.  I had the wickedest pool cue, the prettiest girlfriend, one of the the fastest cars in the county and no sense at all.  I thought everybody wore a money belt and carried a gun.  I had no idea at all what it meant to be an American.  No sense of patriotism.  No sense of pride in my County.  

No sense at all.

The Army took away my name and gave me a number.  They worked me like a rented mule.  And taught me there were other folks besides me in the world.  Other men from other cities and states.  Other men of other races and religions.  Others who thought differently and acted differently than me, but were still good people.  Others with whom I might just have to share a foxhole someday.  Others upon whom I had to rely.  And they upon me.  I never had that feeling before.  

I learned that America had fought for its independence.  And fought another 200 wars and battles and skirmishes and police actions to keep all us Americans safe.  And only guys like me stood between our friends and families and those who wished to do us harm.

I learned pride in my unit.  And pride in my company.  And pride in my battalion and brigrade.  And pride in  the U. S. Army.  And more than that, pride in my Country.  I learned that, although it's not perfect, ours is the best Country on Earth.  The only Country where your freedoms are granted by God, and are worth fighting for and to keep.  

I came home from the Army grown up.  And ready to assume my responsibilities to my family and my Country.  Whereas before I was a selfish pool hall rat, interested only in myself, I came home from the military reformed.  Ready to finish school and get a job and get married and start a family and do what I could for my friends and neighbors and community and Country. 

The Army did that to and for me.  I shudder to think what I'd have become had I not been conscripted.  But I know what I became because of it.  

America ceased drafting its young men and women after its disastrous Viet Nam foray.  Since 1975 we've been an all volunteer military.  No longer will your bunkmate be representative of all the cities and states of America.  It will be representative only of those who chose to enlist and even stay for life.  They're older, wiser, better educated, and an all-around fiercer fighting force.  But it's not the same as what I experienced.  And I recommend we return to that time.  I recommend we resume the draft.  So that, like 22 other countries, we require our high school graduates to give back to their country two or more years of their lives.      

Think back to how smart (or dumb) you were at 18 years old.  And think back at how much smarter you were a couple of years later.  And then imagine how much better prepared you'd be for life if you'd have grown up while defending your country. 

And then let your Country pay you back by paying for your education and helping you buy your first house and providing you with continuing health care. 

It worked for me.  It could work for you and your kids.  Just remember on this 250th Anniversary of America, your freedom was bought and paid for by those who wrote a blank check for everything up to and including their lives.  And more than one million of them died while paying for it.  Think of them while you enjoy the day they bought for you with their lives.

I've been to 47 countries.  And I can tell there's nowhere like America.  Our Great Experiment in Freedom has proven successful.  We've had a small "d" democracy longer than any other country on Earth.  And we're positioned to go on for another 250 years.  With your patriotism, and the dedication of those in our military, we'll surely achieve it...

Happy Birthday, America!