My Favorite Vet

As politicians make speeches today, flanked by uniformed men and women, and surrounded by flags unfurled, my thoughts turn to one serviceman in particular. My father served in the US Navy. His father, and namesake, died while serving in the Navy. Bill Moon bought our family home with VA financing. His widow receives a modest, but much appreciated, veteran’s benefit each month. He died in a VA hospital in San Diego in 1977, and was buried in a VA cemetery in Los Angeles, a stone’s throw from the UCLA campus that his son attended. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, thanks to the GI Bill. But I don’t think he’d understand a popular bumper sticker: “If you love your freedom, thank a vet.” Why not thank a teacher? When was the last time our “freedom” was truly at military risk? He dearly loved this great country, but did not support the Korean or Viet Nam wars. If he was alive today, I doubt that he’d support the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. He taught us to love freedom but to hate war. So, here’s to you dad. I miss you everyday. Not just on Veterans Day.