Veteran Views – 11/17/09

Vet-Speak by Oliver North at HumanEvents.com
   Branson, Mo. -- They have come from every state in the union -- more than 50,000 veterans and their families. They are here to celebrate "Veterans Homecoming Week" in a city that "never forgets our heroes," where businesses proclaim to "hire veterans first" and entertainers proudly announce the units with which they served -- to the applause and cheers of fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen and Marines. They come for reunions with comrades from campaigns in faraway places and to remember their shared sacrifice in long-ago battles. They come here because Tony Orlando's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" melody means something special to them and because the parade down Branson's Main Street every Nov. 11 reminds them of -- well -- America.
   For nearly a decade, it has been my great privilege to interview thousands of our active duty military personnel, veterans and their families. Fox News has sent me to every theater of war in which Americans have fought since World War II -- and given me the opportunity to keep company with heroes. For two years in a row, I have covered this remarkable celebration in Branson. Last year, it was just days after a presidential election, and among the thousands of vets and their families, there was a sense of "watchful waiting." Because Americans in general -- and veterans in particular -- are innately fair, they were willing to give a new commander in chief and his administration a chance. That "decent interval" is over……
   And from a young staff sergeant wearing a Purple Heart medal on his uniform and standing beside his pregnant wife: "I came in because of the attack on 9/11. I've done three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. We agreed I was going to stay in. But if we're not in to win, I'm getting out."
   Though the sentiments of these veterans may hearten opponents of the Obama administration, it is notable that the overwhelming complaint was leveled not only at the White House but also at Washington. Incumbents: Sound reveille.
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