how to honour this particular veteran
Yesterday was the U.S. Marine Corps birthday. In 1775, the Corps supposedly was
spawned at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia when young men — enticed by free cold
beer — enlisted in the Revolutionary War. Marines honour their roots to this day
by seeking out cold beer as often as possible.
Today, as you know, is Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in America.
In the states, vets can get all this free: a Krispy Kreme doughnut, a Denny’s Grand
Slam breakfast, ten chicken wings at Hooters, and a meal at Applebee’s, Chili’s,
Golden Corral and T.G.I. Friday’s — with a small Slurpee from 7-Eleven to wash it
all down. Even the Australian-themed Outback Steakhouse (based in Tampa,
Florida) is springin’ for a Bloomin’ Onion.
I’m certain that homeless vets will rejoice in this early Thanksgiving, if they find
out about it.
Up here the freebies aren’t as abundant. Vets can get a free doughnut at Tim
Horton’s and a free car wash at Sudsy’s Super Wash in Alberta. I assume I don’t
qualify. Small matter. It would cost me three ferry fees to get to Sudsy’s, and it’s
senseless to wash a car here in the rainy season, anyway.
But there are three things you could do to honour this particular veteran. Please:
(1) hoist one with me to Eddie Weekfall, a Marine buddy who was
killed in Vietnam. I posted about him on Memorial Day. I pro-
mised his spirit I’d never forget him.
(2) don’t call me a “hero” or “warrior”. It sickens me how the media
devalues those words by applying it to all service personnel. Not
all of us displayed exceptional courage or saved lives. Most of us
weren’t in the infantry. Mahatma Ghandi was a hero. I wasn’t.
(3) ask your politicians: Why does warfare falls disproportionately
on the lower classes and people of color? Why are veterans treated
so shabbily? Will the next war truly be waged in our nation’s best
interests? Why are the real reasons we go to war obscured by
patriotic rhetoric?
Did Eddie die in vain? It pains me to say yes, but I can see it no other way.
During this two-day span, I spend a lot of time reflecting on what my six months
in Vietnam meant to me. It was the most intense period of my life and profoundly
affected all that has followed. Much of it is deeply private, some of it I’d like to share
but it’s too painful. But the final scene from the film “Hair” features as telling a
metaphor for that war and my feelings about it as I’d ever seen. Berger the hippie,
played by Treat Williams, fills in for his Army friend Claude (John Savage) so
Claude can slip off-base to see Sheila (Beverly D’Angelo) and other friends before
his unit ships out.
While Claude is with the others, his unit starts loading into massive planes. The
wholly unprepared Berger marches into a pitch black metal cavern with the
troops. The film ends with the group gathered by Berger’s grave in an immense
military cemetery. I get chills every time I watch it. See what you think of it.
And let the sunshine in.
