From the Daughter of
a Vet -
My father served with
the Air Force in Vietnam ’67 - ‘68 and I’ve grown up knowing that there were heroes in his life that I never
got the pleasure of meeting except via the traveling Wall and through Dad’s stories about them. If he hadn’t
come back, I wouldn’t be here.
I am the daughter
of a Veteran. I stand before you today to tell you for all of your sons &
daughters that we love you. No matter what you saw, heard or did over there. We are glad you are here with us.
We know it so
easily could have been you that didn’t come home and then we would not exist.
Your being here has changed the world.
We are glad it was you
that came home, but we are sorry for those who didn’t.
Even though the
war changed you, from who you believed yourself to be… I didn’t
know you before the war, I know you now. I know you as the person
I have looked up to all of my life.
I have seen your faraway
gaze as you talk about your friends; I see the muscles tense in your body as you watch a military show on the History Channel
on TV. I’ve gone to Memorial Day events with you and seen your eyes fill
with tears as Taps was played.
I wish I could
take away the tears from your eyes and that sob from your throat when you think about your friends. But I can’t make it all go away.
The only thing
that I can do is tell you that you are loved…you are appreciated. You are
looked up to, and you are needed.
We need you to tell
your stories, we need to you wrap your arms around your grandchildren and tell them what America
is to you. Tell us the names of the heroes you knew and let us embrace them in
our hearts. For it is only with knowledge of what has been lost that we learn
to appreciate what we are so fortunate to have.
We Have America...And We
Have You.
Bethany Erck 2007
