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A buddy at work, a Marine machinegunner who served in Vietnam near the border and saw some of the heaviest action of the war, thanked me for my service today. I was stunned. I have never thought of my service as anything special and have always held my brothers who served in combat in the highest esteem. They paid a price I was never asked to pay. For him to do that for me was almost more than I could bear.

I appreciate the many thank yous we get these days. They were far fewer and farther between back then. But it's almost too much for me to accept the thanks of grateful citizens when others have paid so much more than I ever did. Honor the dead. They have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Honor those who served in combat and have to live with those memories for the remainder of their lives. As for me, your thanks are very welcome, but I think of those who never returned (like my cousin, Donald Carlson) and those who returned but never fully healed.