Thank you for allowing me to speak and giving me your attention.

 

Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, celebrating the end of hostilities on November 11, 1918. That war resulted in almost equal numbers of dead and wounded – 20 million dead and 21 million wounded. Of the dead, about half were military and half were civilians. Before the war, there had been optimism in Europe that technological advances and increased prosperity made war a thing of the past. The extent of the devastation and loss was unfathomable to many. Armistice Day became an opportunity to reflect on the costs of war, and to remember the dead and the sacrifices of so many.

 

Of course, WW I, at the time sometimes called the War to End All Wars, was followed by WW II, and the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 1954, as the WWI veterans began to pass away, Congress voted to change the name to Veterans Day.

 

I am a Vietnam-era veteran, but I did not serve in Vietnam. While I spent almost four years on active duty, most of that time overseas, and later served with the Army Reserves and the National Guard, I never deployed to a combat zone, and I never fired a weapon at anyone, nor was I ever fired upon.

 

Yet, it is right and appropriate that we acknowledge and honor the willingness of individuals, men and women, to serve, no matter the nature of their service.

I raised my right hand, swore an oath of allegiance to the United States to uphold the constitution, and I promised to obey the lawful orders of my commanders. I was prepared to fight, and if need be, to die for my country. Just like every other soldier, sailor, marine, and airman.

 

For those of us who did not fight in combat or serve in a combat zone, it is enough that we were prepared to do so.  I didn't and don't think of myself as someone special, but the volunteer's willingness to swear an oath and serve her country is special, and as such, makes it completely appropriate that there is a Veterans Day.

 

On Veterans Day we should remember and honor those who served, both living and dead. To step out of your day-to-day life and pause for a moment to reflect, and say a silent prayer.

 

Whatever the volunteer's initial reason for joining the service - whether patriotism, or to learn a skill, or see the world, it is not long before that volunteer, consciously or not, absorbs to a greater or lesser degree, the ethical and moral dimensions of military service - the notion of duty, honor, country, sacrifice, and respect, all bound up in that word 'service.'

 

When I tell friends, most of whom never served in the military, that some of the very best people I ever met were in the military, they seem surprised. But it really should not be surprising. It is those demanding environments in which the military operates, in combat and in training, that you see a person's true character - whom can you trust? who is dependable? whose word is good? who is a friend? who is a brother? The military not only encourages, but requires, such traits. I had the good fortune to know many such men and women during my time in service.

 

They are as vivid in my memory today as, no doubt, your friends and compatriots are to you. As I stand here before you, I am thinking of all those friends I knew over 20 plus years of service, who taught me by their example how I should live, in the military and in civilian life. 

 

What is the point of this reflection?

 

That it is in our nature to be idealistic, especially when young – to want to be part of a larger whole that aspires to do good. We reflect that sentiment in our decision to be part of Rotary with its motto of Service Above Self. Those of you who are in health care, or education, or service organizations, all are motivated by the same sentiment. It can be easy to forget that the all volunteer military works because the members are motivated by a sense of purpose drawn from our ideals – duty, honor, country.

 

As we remember and salute our honored veterans today, we pray that their sacrifices will make war a distant memory and peace a final victory.  

 

One of the reasons that I have always felt uncomfortable about people thanking me for my service is that I think the Army and my country served me more than I served them. I say this because of the opportunities that were given to me.

 

I joined ROTC as a freshman in college, because the Vietnam War was still being fought, and as a shy, introspective and idealistic young man, I was attracted to the notion of service to this country. As a ROTC cadet, the Army allowed me to go to Jump School at Fort Benning Georgia, where I learned to jump from airplanes.

 

After graduation I was commissioned a second lieutenant and offered an assignment to Japan, and the details of my assignment were ‘secret.’ How could I resist that invite? In Japan I worked as an intelligence officer dealing with strategic intelligence from satellites and electronic intercepts. I went to Hawaii and Korea on military exercises, and learned a lot about intelligence gathering, most of which is now outdated.

 

The Army then offered me an opportunity to go to language school in Tokyo and to teach at the Japan Ground Self Defense Force. The Army agreed to allow me to live off base with a Japanese Buddhist priest and his family, which was a memorable experience.

 

After leaving active duty in 1978, I started law school, and joined a local Army Reserve Infantry Battalion, where I was first executive officer of a 120 man infantry company, and then commanding officer. I learned how hard and tiring and miserable it is to be an infantry soldier. Especially demanding was cold weather operations at Camp Ripley, Minnesota for three weeks one January!

 

My battalion commander recommended me as an aide de camp to a two-star general, and while I developed my law practice, I also traveled around New England with the general, often flying in Army Huey helicopters.

 

At the end of my tour with the general, he said “What assignment do you want now?” One of the perks of being an aide de camp is the ability to pick the next assignment. I chose flight school. At this point I was a senior captain, 29 years old, and the age cut off for flight school was 30. The general’s response to me was “Submit your paperwork.” Three weeks later, I had orders to Fort Rucker, Alabama. So, this Boston Irish Catholic guy married to a Japanese woman, went to Fort Rucker to learn to fly helicopters. And next to my wife and children, flying was the great love of my life. As a senior captain, I was class leader, in charge of 40 lieutenants and captains. I was also their confessor – and they talked to me about their fears and worries, their problems with spouses, and the like. I did a lot of growing up in that time. And there were tragedies and danger in what we were doing. It is imprinted in my memory as clear as if it was yesterday, when my fellow flight students walked past the wreckage of a portion of the crashed Huey with blood stains on the seats. While no one in my class died, while I was there four students and instructors died in crashes.

 

Returning home, I flew Hueys in the reserves, and the guys I flew with had all flown in Vietnam. My flight training continued under their tutelage. So, while I was their commander, I was really their student.

 

While in the Reserves, I went for training in Iceland and Canada, and after promotion to major, I was no longer flying, so I accepted a reduction in rank and became a warrant officer flying Cobra gunships in the RI National Guard. I did this until the demands of a growing family and work forced me to realize that I couldn’t do everything. It was a bittersweet decision.

World War I (1914–18), also called the First World War or Great War, was the most deadly and destructive war the world had ever seen to that time. On June 28, 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist, leading Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia on July 28. For many years rival groups of European nations had been making treaties and alliances. By 1914 Europe had been divided into two camps. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were members of the Triple Alliance. Later, after the withdrawal of Italy and the addition of Turkey (or the Ottoman Empire, as it was then called), the Triple Alliance took a new name, the Central Powers. Russia, France, and Great Britain had formed the rival Triple Entente. Later they were called the Allies. Except for Bulgaria, the Balkan states sided with Serbia and the Allies.

 

These alliances were brought into action by Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war. Within a week most of Europe was at war. Using the Schlieffen Plan, Germany planned to conquer France first and then quickly move troops east to defeat Russia. The strategy failed when the British army joined France and blocked the Germans’ advance before they reached Paris. Trench warfare reached its height during the war. Troops fighting for the Allies and Central Powers dug complex networks of trenches into the ground for use in making attacks or defending themselves.