News release
Local author Carole Cliffe was the keynote speaker at a luncheon for visually impaired veterans on May 23, and encouraged the veterans to hand down the gifts they learned in the military to the next generation.
“So my challenge for you today is what do you have in a solution to hand down to the next generation? That answer is in what the military has trained and taught you,” Cliffe said at the luncheon hosted by the Visual Impairment Services Team of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The event was held in person in Los Angeles and was available to veterans online, too.
“To name a few, discipline — like making your own bed —loyalty to your unit, to each other and to country. Indeed, the work ethic which is so lacking today,” she said. “The discipline when you were on night watch, you can’t fall asleep, your unit is depending on you. Certainly, vets, you realized it’s not all about you the individual, and entitlement, which this upcoming generation adheres to. Within your military units you learned to celebrate diversity, respect different perspectives, work together for a common cause, and not practice division. You worked together with the common goal of protecting your fellow solider and protecting America. Indeed, you are the beacons of light to the next generation.”
