I am a veteran. Not a combat veteran – but still someone who raised his hand and promised to be ready when his nation called upon him. Wars are started by lawmakers, but they are carried on the backs of ordinary men and women who choose service over comfort.
Those who go into combat are extraordinary Americans, in my opinion, deserving of praise that can never truly match their sacrifice. Those wounded in battle – those who carry scars you can see and scars that stay hidden – are even more rare. They are our Purple Heart heroes, honored by a country that too often forgets the price they paid.
During my years as a Navy corpsman, I served alongside many non-citizens. Some served in Vietnam and came home with post-traumatic stress disorder so severe they needed hospitalization to treat wounds no one could see. I was always troubled – more than troubled, really – by how easy it is for some people to wrap themselves in the flag while doing everything possible to avoid the service they praise from afar. For example, Rush Limbaugh had several deferments. Newt Gingrich maneuvered through school, marriage and parenthood to avoid the draft. Just for good measure, he had flat feet to keep him out. And to be clear: Cowardice isn’t partisan. Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and Joe Lieberman all managed to avoid serving during wartime as well.
And yet – for all of that – we find ourselves deporting a Venezuelan-born soldier who once lifted a burning vehicle off his fellow Americans in Iraq. He bled for this country. He earned the Purple Heart. He suffered from traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Yes, he later fired into a crowd during a flashback, injuring a woman in the leg, and served 15 years in prison. He took responsibility. He paid the price. But he should have become an American citizen the day he enlisted – or at the very least the day we has wounded in combat. Deporting him after he served his country, and then served his sentence, is more than cruel. It is a betrayal. A stain. A national disgrace.
He took the place of somebody’s son or daughter – young Americans who stayed home playing Xbox, upgrading iPhones, and building lives of ease protected by people like him. The majority of Americans are “American” only because they happen to be born here. They serve themselves, then pound their chests about freedoms purchased by others – sometimes purchased by the non-citizens they later cast aside. There is nothing more un-American than that.
My own family came from Ireland and served in both world wars. My uncle, PFC John Symington, died in Camp Cabanatuan in the Philippines. My father served, I served, my son and his wife have served, and now my granddaughter prepares to wear the uniform. We love this country – not in words, but in action.
This Veteran’s Day, that’s what weighs on my heart. We must be better. Especially those we ALLOW to lead us. Demand integrity. Demand courage. And stop hiding behind the social media slogans. Instead of saying, “Thank you for your service,” maybe try serving – your community, your country, each other.
Joe Greene
Valencia
