Special breed of hero
Once again this solemn day arrives. Without fail, year after year since 1954, the 11th day of the 11th month is honored as Veterans Day.
Many folks don't realize the spelling of Veterans Day is correct; no apostrophe is included so as to designate this day without ownership. The day does not belong to veterans; rather, it is a day set aside to honor those that are.
Newspaper and TV ads tout the sales of the day. And I guess that's OK; after all, they have a business and try to capitalize on every possible reason to promote sales and boost profit.
Many businesses, especially restaurants, offer free meals or desserts or appetizers to all veterans on this day. And some offer a discount to those that are serving or have served.
It would be nice for all businesses to offer veterans a token discount. I mean, think about it; without those that served and fought to defend our freedoms, would they be in business? Not sure, but it would be a nice gesture for them to show.
For us this day should not pass without a pause to say thank you. So on Veterans Day, please stop and pause and remember those that serve. If you recognize a vet on the street or while shopping, a quick "thank you for your service" means a lot and goes a long way.
Veterans are a special breed of heroes. They were and are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice to keep this great country free from all enemies foreign or domestic.
STAN JAROS
Cammack Village
Fought for freedoms
My dad and brother both served in the Navy, Daddy during World War II. On this day, I always think of them and the sacrifices they made for our freedoms.
We can't take those freedoms for granted.
LML TERRELL
Dayton
A respectful gesture
I friend of mine from California came to visit me about two weeks ago. I have not seen him since I left Vietnam about 50 years ago. We were in the Seabees together.
He loved Arkansas, and we took him and his wife to Eureka Springs one day and showed them the area. While here he gave me a cap that said Vietnam Veteran.
A few days later I was in my Neighborhood Market grocery store shopping. As I was leaving, a man--I would say in his early 30s--walked in the door with two young boys. They appeared to be about 6 and 8 years old. The father and youngest son smiled and stepped aside. The 8-year-old extended his hand to shake mine and as he did, he said, "Thank you for your service to our country, Sir." I thanked him and looked at his father and I could not decide who was prouder of this young man, his father or me.
I will never forget this kind, respectful gesture.
ROBERT L. FERRELL
Fayetteville
He will never truly die
Newly married, my husband and I spent the year 1965-66 in Fayetteville; we lived on a dirt road above Razorback Stadium. While ROTC groups marched among the stately oaks of Old Main, and a trickle of anti-war protesters marched in front of the Student Union, we shared this curious time with the unreality but all too real threat of the Vietnam War.
The war became very real for us, however, when we received word that my first cousin Harold George Bennett had died as a prisoner of the Viet Cong three weeks after we were married. My Aunt Pauline never accepted that George, first listed as a prisoner of war, had died. She fully expected him to step onto the porch, grinning. "Mama, I smell chicken and dressing." Final word of his death was not confirmed until 1973. George has been honored many times as the hero he was, the most recent being the naming of the Perryville Post Office in his memory.
Master Sergeant Harold George Bennett, my soft-spoken cousin with the sandy hair and freckles, the shy but stubborn demeanor, was the first person from our state to die in the poorly named "Vietnam Conflict." The family was told that he had bravely waved off a rescue helicopter and that he was killed for his refusal to participate in a propaganda film. We believe it; George wouldn't have thought much of that demand!
A few years back, I had my first chance to visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. The monument, a wall of polished black marble, has names of the dead carved chronologically so that the deeper into the memorial you walk, the earlier the years you encounter.
At the very center of the memorial was a year with only 10 names, and my reflection was imposed over the glossy name of Harold George Bennett. Suddenly, I saw Harold George himself grinning, and the secret passed between us. Aunt Pauline was right. Harold George will never die.
DANA STEWARD
Sherwood
Finishing the mission
When I served as a Special Forces Green Beret in Afghanistan, we had a motto of "Finishing the mission." The phrase simply means that once you start a task, you see it through until the end. We lived by this creed, no matter what the task. However, since my honorable discharge from the military, I have been troubled by a mission we have failed to finish related to our service members.
There is one number I want everyone to remember. One number that tells the troubling way we are failing those who served us. Twenty-two.
Twenty-two veterans commit suicide in our country every day. That means we lose more than 8,000 men and women every year. To put that number in perspective, it is more than the total number of American military members we have lost in direct combat in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since the start of those conflicts.
In Arkansas, the numbers are even worse. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the adjusted rate of veteran suicide per 100,000 people in Arkansas is 48.1. That is nearly three times the national average of 17.0.
That is unacceptable. We have to do more to serve those who served us. It is time to act. That is why I am drafting legislation to create a new task force in the General Assembly. The task force will focus on reducing the number of veterans' suicides and related issues. I want to bring in the best experts from across the nation to work on solutions to this problem.
With the work of mental health experts, dedicated legislators, the Department of Veteran Affairs, and veterans advocacy groups, we can and we will save lives.
Together, we can finish the mission.
TRENT GARNER
El Dorado
State Sen. Trent Garner represents District 27.
Editorial on 11/11/2018