Veterans Day Keynote for 11-11-19 Arvada West High School-Don Stanton

It is an honor for us to be with you here on this special day. I want to share some thoughts about Veterans Day, about veterans, and ways you can serve your community and our country.

*101 years ago, today November 11th became Armistice Day when at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns finally fell silent in France and Belgium after 4 brutal years of WWI. It was known as “the Great War” and it was supposed to be “the War to End all Wars.” After WWII, Armistice Day became Veterans Day to honor all veterans--both living and dead.

We are part of a long line of roughly 60 million veterans from all the services including the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine--who served the country stretching back from the Revolutionary War through Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War, Desert Storm to Iraq & Afghanistan.

Many who stepped-up were new immigrants, who fought and died for the United States throughout history—I am thinking about a man who didn’t speak English well, but joined the Marines in WWII, was severely wounded, and won the Silver Star in the South Pacific.

Today on Veterans Day we are thinking about those we served with--especially those who didn’t come home…and for those still suffering and the effects on their families. I am thinking of 6 I knew who died serving America around the world –ranging from Vietnam to flying over the Atlantic and Pacific during the Cold War.

We are thinking about the 6,000 men and women who died in Iraq, Afghanistan & Syria, 34,000 in Korea, 58,000 in Vietnam and 300,000 more who have passed away from Agent Orange toxic herbicide exposure;

...and about those who died during peacetime on duty around the world.

We are remembering our Allies who steadfastly supported us in Europe, Southeast Asia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Some of them –the South Vietnamese, Laotian Hmong Special Guerrilla Units, Iraqis and Afghanis-- now live with us here around Denver. --They are not forgotten by those who served with them.

While many veterans left military service and succeeded, others struggled to re-enter the civilian world. When we see a veteran suffering, we need to remember that once, he or she was the one who stepped-up to answer the call to serve this country and swore “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

*After the Vietnam War ended in 1973, Congress established a Volunteer Military, but for those of us here who were in high school during the 1960s military service was not a choice—it was an obligation.

With the Vietnam “Conflict” escalating, President Johnson and Congress passed the Selective Service Act of 1967 expanding the Draft age from 18 up to 35 and ending deferments beyond 4 years of college. In 1969, the Draft Lottery started picking soldiers based on their birthdays.

My neighbor said “LBJ cleaned out the law schools;” he had to leave one in 1967 and joined the Army as an infantry officer and was wounded the next year. He was one of the original vets who worked to create the Vietnam Memorial in Washington.

51 years in 1968 I was a senior-- a shy kid sitting in the back of room. It was the Sixties –a time of social and political change in America, muscle cars, and music from The Animals, Credence Clearwater Revival, Country Joe and the Fish played on radio and cassette tapes.

Pretend you are one of those students sitting in high schools back then. In June 1968, a group of 45 seniors called the Jefferson County Platoon— went through boot camp together at Fort Bliss Texas. Many were sent to Vietnam to become part of the build-up of troops in late 1968 to a peak of 553,000 (about the population of Jefferson County).

This was a time of high casualties and most everyone knew someone who was or had been in Vietnam.

Last year Joseph Sleevi made phone calls to get the Jefferson County Platoon back together for a 50th reunion. He said, “It’s very emotional. There’s a cost to even calling them and getting them together.”

“The hardest thing we heard was ‘We thought we were forgotten’…You kind of just came home, put your uniform away, and went on about life.”

“The Reunion is an opportunity to heal and that is the biggest thing…It’s almost a prayer -- if you will -- for those that died in Vietnam,"

Imagine yourself as an 18-year-old stepping onto a plane or a bus bound for strange places like Parris Island, San Diego, Lackland AFB or Fort Bliss where you “put your feet on the line.”

You are assigned to groups to train and learn to become a team and cover for each other.

You are thrust into new challenges: passing tests, running obstacle courses, swimming & drown-proofing, and Survival Escape Resistance & Evasion training.

You travel overseas on long flights where upon arrival, you became the “the New Guy”--someone not to be trusted until you prove yourself.

*Can you imagine a time when there were no cell phones and email? Before email, we had mail call which was a very special time. The mail came in bags from the US on Air Force cargo planes, then by truck or a helicopter or by high-line between 2 ships steaming 80 feet apart at 12 knots in the South China Sea.

The mail was sometimes 3-4 weeks old and torn or squashed, but it was precious and it transformed your week. Good mail with a photo or cassette tape from home or your girlfriend’s perfume could keep you going for weeks.

But coming home could be a big problem. First, you had been away a very long time and a lot had changed—especially you. So uniforms, badges, and ribbons went into boxes in the basement…and sometimes problems emerged as vets tried to cope and work themselves back into civilian life.

I remember a meeting of veterans and spouses when a man walked in late and was asked to introduce himself. He said he had flown Huey helicopters when a former Marine broke-down and said “My unit was surrounded and some of your crazy Army helicopter pilots risked their lives to come in and get us out when no one else would.” His wife had been his main Post-Traumatic Stress counselor for over 40 years.

March 29,1973 was the day the last combat troops returned from Vietnam and the last POWs arrived on American soil. During the past few years, March 29/30 was designated as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” to try to make-up for the lack of welcome back then.

Late on April 30,1975 as Saigon fell and the evacuation ended, my boss on the aircraft carrier Coral Sea remembers that a group who had served in-country stood on the bow and looked towards Vietnam remembering the Allies we left behind.

*So who are these veterans-- these men and women who gather and wear the strange hats and badges or ride those Harleys or who seem to stand-up straighter during the National Anthem?

Veterans come from all backgrounds: they are men and women who represent all 50 states and territories and all races and religions of our great nation. Did you know that 11,000 women served in Vietnam and hundreds of thousands have served all over the world?

No matter how long or where we served–we all have been affected by our military experience and it has become part of our inner core. We became part of teams, observed different leaders, and learned to lead ourselves.

We veterans are your neighbors, your teachers, your grandparents, uncles and aunts. We signed-up or were drafted to leave our hometowns to serve our nation.

We did routine jobs, stood guard, maintained trucks, helicopters and airplanes; and stood midnight watches on ships and submarines or alerts at bases and underground missile silos.

Our military experiences gave us a greater appreciation for the complexities of the world and helped form who we are.

***I remember listening on the radio to President Kennedy’s inaugural address in January 1961 when he said “And so, my fellow Americans--ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

We veterans challenge you to do something that is bigger than yourself; to step-out of your comfort zone and encourage you to serve your community and our country in the way you choose.

There are many ways besides the military to contribute. You can become part of a team in your community by becoming a teacher, guidance counselor, social worker, nurse; you can work police or fire or be a medic, a mentor, a coach or volunteer with civic organizations. You can help the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Teach For America or the Peace Corps.

Serving others can help you develop personally and you can learn new skills, how to work with people from different backgrounds, and how to lead.

These experiences can also help make you stand-out from other job-seekers and will help make you a better citizen.

Thank you.