I saw this license plate in my area the other day and it hit me like a two by four upside the head. I respect this man's service and his honesty. I wish we had more like him.
As with many things in the military, the needs of the service often times is just the luck of the draw. Sometimes you're in the infantry and sometimes you're in the rear with the gear. Sometimes you can become one of Uncle Hyman's Superhuman Advanced Undersea Warriors or you can be stationed on the tender, welded to the pier.
I was surprised to find out that the REMFs even have their own home page. They would prefer the term Rear Echelon Military Forces. (At least that's what they tell their wives.)
Unfortunately, too many old timers feel the need to embellish their otherwise honorable service by denying what they really did (supply, maintenance, laundry, Armed Forces Radio & TV, etc.) and spinning tales of daring do with the elite special operations units of our services.
My personal favorite REMF is Pat Sajak. I have never really heard him talk about his service in Vietnam but they say the Internet has everything and, apparently that is true.
So today we salute you, REMFs for all of that boring, vital stuff you did in the rear with the gear. We also thank you for not overstating your record.
2 comments:
from my Nov 11 FB post
I have thousands of brothers and millions of step-brothers. We all have the same father; you know him as Uncle Sam, but Sam is our father. Sam married five sisters with strange names: Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard. He has 50 brothers who also had strange wives: Air Guard, Iowa National Guard....
We all share a common bond; we love our father and mother. We all share a common trait; we answered our father's call to service. When we answered that call, we swore we would defend our Constitution (Father said that was important) against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The weren't any caveats in our promise. We didn't say we would defend as long as we didn't get dirty, or end up in harm's way, or our wife was having cramps. We didn't say we would defend only if we could agree with our assigned duties
We agreed to serve.
Each man and woman who swore to this had an equal chance to give his or her life to defend the Constitution. It takes a wide spectrum of activities to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Many more served than died on the battlefields. They are equally important.
The picture is Stanley G. Westover IC1(SS). I could have inserted Paul D. Petterson or John W. Petterson because they also served, they also took the oath and, moreover, inspired me to follow in their path. I chose this photo because on this Veterans' Day I want to remember all of my veteran brothers and sisters and acknowledge those whose quiet activities are so important, also.
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