Veterans Day: A time to listen

By Michael Fitzgerald | Published: November 11, 2009 | Comments closed

In my early years as a columnist, I seldom let a Vererans Day or Memorial Day go by without talking to veterans. Patriotism was a secondary motive for this practice. The primary motive is that veterans’ stories are incredible. If, by telling them, we thank them for their service, so much the better.

After a decade or so, however, I began to give veterans a pass. I had a “been there, done that” feeling about it. But when the wife of today’s subject contacted me, she mentioned one fact that compelled me to return to coverage of veterans: her husband, Mr. Cain, is 91.

 

Cain’s story, while strong and worthy, is far from the strongest I have done. Talk to a Guadalcanal Marine the next time you want strong. But the point is soon we won’t have the choice to talk to them or give their stories a pass. They will be gone. The time to listen is now.

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