The other day, while at Hannaford's, I helped a young mother push her overloaded cart as she wrestled with a 2-year-old.

Thanks, she said. Then she noticed my USMC cap and added – Thanks for your service.

Like many vets, I didn’t know what to reply, so I just smiled and stuffed her bags into the back seat as she buckled the little one into his safety seat.

It is always a pleasure to be greeted by a smiling young woman, especially when you are old and bald. But I wore the uniform years ago. And I was not alone. If you look around your neighborhood, in your church, the store, the hospital, the waterfront, and the lunch spot, you will spot old and young veterans. Politically, they are Republicans, Democrats and independents. Some are good guys, while others are run-of-the-mill soreheads, and folks who say they don’t care much for politics.

They are Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, Catholics, Jews, and none of the above. They graduated from elite colleges and no-name high schools. Some didn’t go to school at all.

Vets work as doctors, lawyers, teachers and cops. They also build things and take stuff to the dump, cut your grass, and drive a truck. Some are retired and sit on the porch as they gripe about the younger generation. They no longer wear the uniform, but once they stood tall, raised their right hand, and pledged to protect and defend the Constitution. After their service, most came home. Sadly, others did not.

In recent months, we saw their photos staring down at us from banners hanging from town phone poles.  A few were bonafide heroes, like the late Boothbay resident Jay Zeamer Jr. who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions as a B-17 pilot in World War II. During a reconnaissance mission in the South Pacific, he was shot while piloting the craft, fighting off as many as 17 enemy fighters and still brought his crew home safely. I urge you to Google him to learn why they awarded him the nation’s highest honor.

Last month, Bath Iron Works delivered a destroyer to the Navy named in honor of legendary World War II Marine, GySgt. John Basilone, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic actions on Guadalcanal. He was later awarded the Navy Cross after giving his life on Iwo Jima. You can look him up.

Most vets were not combat heroes, though some served in war zones, like Southport’s Jim Singer, a Marine infantryman in Vietnam, or Boothbay’s Barry Sherman who drove USMC trucks in “The Nam.” Some, like Seabee Linc Sample, were builders, while others, like Coast Guardsman Rusty Court, protected the sea lanes and saved lives.

Most veterans served in support roles. They were cooks, clerks and warehouse workers. They fixed engines, repaired planes and carried radios. I was drafted along with a young urban kid who served a tour in Vietnam in a unit called Graves Registration. He told me he spent a year stuffing arms and legs into body bags and sending them home to their families. It did not go well for him.

We lost more than 58,000 military service personnel in Vietnam. More than 300 came from Maine. Others served in the Middle Eastern wars.
Today, we have a pair of vice presidential candidates who wore the uniform and served with honor. One was a U.S. Marine corporal tasked as a combat correspondent – a military reporter. The other served in the National Guard for 24 years. They are the first veterans to seek high national office since the late Sen. John McCain.

Recent national news stories told us how some slick political operatives are trying to compare the military service of some vets to score some political points against the other. All who served deserve our thanks.

We saw other stories comparing major civilian honors to those awarded by the military, suggesting they were on par, or even superior to the top military awards. There is no doubt the honored civilians were worthy. They exhibited exceptional service in their professions, whether in public service, sports, the arts, or other worthy fields.

But to this old, and I mean old, vet, those awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, like our hometown hero Jay Zeamer, or GySgt. John Basilone, are just special.

Civilian honorees can be and are outstanding, but their accomplishments pale in comparison to the military heroes who risked life-threatening injuries and often death to protect their buddies as they honorably served the nation.

Some vets say the service taught them workplace skills and life lessons that helped them grow up. More than a few say their military service allowed them to give something back to the nation that nurtured us all.

Come to think of it, on balance, maybe it is the vets who should do the thanking after all.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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