Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

This morning I was listening to a local radio station, (Shout out to Sunny 105.9) They played the moving speech Red Skelton gave about what the pledge means.

It is all so easy for the rest of the civilians to forget that without men and women stepping up since the Patriots stood up to the King of England and farmers decided to take on the best military in the world at the time, we wouldn't have the same rights we have today. The Patriots obtained our freedom with their lives and those who followed retained it.

Some people wonder why the homeless civilians in this country don't get as much attention as homeless veterans. Others wonder why veterans should have a special court just for them. Some complain that disabled veterans are getting free homes. They have even complained about them getting medical care from the VA.

Most Americans don't complain or even wonder why veterans have been treated differently. It is because they were not like the rest of the people in this nation and they thought what we have was worth fighting for.

While some argue over the necessity of war during every single time we sent men and women to fight, they wondered as well, but no matter how much they wondered about the reasons, the only thing that matter was the country needed them and so did the other sent before them.

It has been pointed out many times that people can burn the flag, the symbol of all this country is, yet as they grieve for the horrible sight, in the end it one of the many rights they were willing to die for including being called names and the choice some use to betray them.

They are used and often abused by the very people screaming the loudest about "their rights" and their needs while veterans risked their lives all over the world.

They lament about how they feel so disconnected from the rest of the population trying to "fit back in" with civilians they left here to enjoy their own lives. Yet it is those same civilians who should be thanking God these men and women did not fit in with the selfishness of their peers.

If you looked up VA Claims Monday Morning Report it called VA Claims "Inventory" and this is an exact link to what you'll see now http://www.va.gov/opa/issues/claims_inventory.asp on another page. "Inventory" but behind that word are men and women disabled by service experiences. We are a nation of over 300 million people but we can't take care of less than 22 million veterans? What is worse is, the VA is compensating less than 4 million of them for disabilities.

Think about that. They became disabled because they risked their lives unselfishly for the rest of the population.

Some folks want to save money shopping the Veterans Day sales and that is all this day is to them. For veterans, this is only one day for the rest of us to pay homage to the few providing the freedoms we have. Yet this is only one of 364 others when they are still veterans. Still paying the price for what they were willing to do while asking for very little in return.

Call them hero and they say "Just doing my job." It was always more than just a job to them because they made the choice to serve this nation knowing the risks and hardships but above the obvious, they knew they would never again carry the title of simply "civilian."

The question is not if we have done enough or not, because clearly we haven't.  The true expression of gratitude is, they have done enough for us and now it is our turn to take care of them no matter what they need.

So for our veterans, one of your favorite speeches of all time.  By the way, have I told you lately, thank you?