Newspapers In Education
Why I Appreciate American Veterans
By Trace Cyr
Eighth-grader at Presque Isle Middle School
We sometimes as Americans under appreciate our veterans. We take for granted the brave men and women that put their lives on the line or that used their intelligence for the greater good of America.
The American veterans are the true heroes of all the generations from past to present. For example, in the Vietnam War the troops went into a foreign territory and fought for their freedom. They endured multiple booby traps and sieges. 58,000 Americans lost their lives along with more than 3 million other people. To top it off, when they came home they weren’t treated like heroes. They were treated like monsters. Some soldiers got to the point where they re-enrolled and some even went missing in action. Another example of bravery would be World War II, where the brave Americans went overseas, left their homes and families and for some, never returned.
There are more reasons than just bravery, American veterans are heroes in today’s society. Some didn’t fight, some just used their brains and their time and energy to provide military equipment that was vital to the United States. This helped us win almost all our wars and become a major world power today. They also developed more than just weapons and military equipment. They developed state of the art intelligence and space equipment. They use some of that equipment to save lives of people lost at sea and in some sad cases to finally deliver peace to families.
Now, sometimes I myself wonder, “Why did these people risk everything for their country”? Why would somebody risk their family and sometimes themselves for their country, when there are thousands of other people to do it for them? I myself would do that, because I feel indebted to these people that go to unbelievable lengths to protect us and make sure you can go to sleep at night and not have to worry about the future. They risk everything. Some people have yet to understand why they do this.
In closing I want to thank every brave soul that made sure I can go to sleep at night and not have to worry about another country invading us or a nuclear bomb happening. We need to make sure we say thank you to every veteran for what they did for not only us, but the entire world.
