By COL Dencio S. Acop (Ret)
Many are unfamiliar with veterans.
People like me who served in the military.
So, this is a description of sorts about who they are by one of them.
It is not meant to be a window dressing.
It is meant to be candid and honest.
Veterans were once young men and women who were forced to grow up fast at an early age.
They left the world they knew and entered another, leaving behind their “civilian antics”.
Still teenagers, they already endured loneliness, physical hardship, emotional stress, and psychological trauma.
“To kill or be killed” was no longer just a punchline.
It became a potent reality to stay alive and win the nation’s wars.
Thus, rigid discipline and unceasing training were the soldiers’ daily regimen.
Some made it; some didn’t.
They routinely got assigned and reassigned to different places.
Some were in combat roles; others in combat support and combat service support.
But all contributed and fought against the enemy one way or the other.
Some were heroic; others weren’t.
They came out of battles changed individuals.
Some who fought got wounded; others survived physically unscathed; and some came back with post-traumatic stress disorder.
And there were also those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
And their families back home suffered as well.
Some battles were won; others were lost.
Sometimes, they who fought received medals and promotions; sometimes, they did not.
Sometimes, the intel, plan, leadership, and logistics were great; other times, they were poor.
And soldiers and non-combatant civilians alike paid dearly with their lives.
Oftentimes, the orders they had to follow were legal and moral which was great; but, sometimes they were not which sucked.
There were superb leaders whose competence, compassion, and leadership by example made war-fighting worth enduring.
But there were also corrupt, incompetent ones whose disservice and disloyalty the subordinate soldiers and the nation did not deserve.
They endured low pay and so their families shared their sacrifices for the nation as well.
A famous song sung by soldiers was: “You’ll never get rich you SOB, you’re in the army now.”
Being wounded in action or ill were even welcomed by family members because such gave them time to be with the loved one they longed for.
Frequent goodbyes and long separations were common and endured.
But it wasn’t all toil and hardship too.
Soldiering was fun — the shared experiences, camaraderie and esprit-de-corps developed through the years among bothers-in-arms, foreign and domestic, were priceless.
Their unique experiences are something that can never be had in civilian life.
Some retired from military life for good; but somehow, their years in uniform remained closest in their hearts and minds the rest of their days.
Some continued to work in government as civilians; others joined the private sector.
Some were honorable; some were corrupt.
Some changed their ways; others never did.
While someone said: “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away”; in truth, even soldiers do die and lest we forget — why memorials abound worldwide in honor of them and their ultimate sacrifices by so many grateful nations.
“Taps” calls on us all, and us veterans only know it too well.
Saint Francis of Assisi said that preachers preach and sometimes they use words.
He could just as well have been referring to military leaders, whose effective leadership modality is “action speaks louder than words”.
Veterans are individuals whose legacy in life were their selfless actions.
Remember their sacrifices when you see a frail, stooping veteran slowly marching down the street with his cane.