I
didn't serve my country in the military, so of course I couldn't
consider myself a veteran. But George Bush has made me realize that
maybe I did serve, and have simply forgotten the names of my service
buddies, the dates, and the number of months I served in any given
location. I may be a veteran after all, an absent-minded one who happened to serve under absent-minded commanders. If
you're a vet, think back to your own time in service. Isn't it
impossible to remember where you served, or who you served with? Of
course it is. So you can sympathize with someone's confusion on the
matter.
It's
sad, really: All those great old buddies, all those shared experiences,
all that bonding, and I can't remember even one name. How cruel memory
can be. And apparently none of them has any memory of me, judging from
the lack of Christmas cards.
Of
course, I didn't go on to become famous; if I had, you can bet I'd hear
from them, right? Hey, if I was rich and powerful they'd be tripping
over themselves to step up and vouch for my presence in the military.
Wouldn't they?
I hope you believe me. I'm
increasingly certain I served with great distinction, in the same
branch Bush did, in fact. The one that doesn't keep records. There are
lots of branches like that. Honest.
JACK GRIFFIN, Eagle Bridge
That's a keeper.
I
think I served too. I love a good marching band, even a military one.
Maybe I remember being in one, why, I'm almost certain...
