Happy Veteran's Day!

     

     Veteran's Day is here again, and to me this is the real start of the holiday season.  Tomorrow is my Dad's birthday, then comes Thanksgiving and before you know it, it's Christmas and New Years Eve!  After that here in the northeast we settle in for winter, when I leave my den as seldom as possible.  

     Today is about the veterans though, men and women like my youngest son Christy and my son-in-law Anthony, both of whom served in Iraq, and my late husband Graham and now husband Jack who were Vietnam veterans, all of whose service allows me to plan my holidays and then hibernate the rest of the season in relative peace.  I say relative because with two terriers in the household, well...

Dad on the left with his parents and my Uncle Bill

     My father and his brother are also veterans, of the Korean era, two more in a long line of Irishmen who served the USA.  Beginning with the American Revolutionary War down to this century innumerable soldiers of Irish extraction have fought for this country.  There was a sizable Irish population here by the 17th century, many of them indentured servants who were probably more than happy to aid in the rebellion against England in the 18th.  If you recall from American history class, the founding fathers got a big hand from France and General Lafayette, (some say his name was really General Lafferty and he was Irish), during the war.  The French army at that time contained at least three Irish regiments. One of whom, Walsh's regiment was the first French unit to aid the American side, serving as marines on John Paul Jones' ship Bonhomme Richard.

     Irishmen served in the Civil War too, often being literally met at the docks by Army recruiters.  For a poor immigrant, especially one with a family to support, a regular paycheck was not easily dismissed.  This earlier post tells part of the story of the legendary Irish Brigade whose battle cry, “Faugh a Ballagh”(Clear the Way), echoed across many Civil War battlefields.

     The pacifist in me hates that there is a need for a day like this, but the realist in me understands that need.  I wish all the veterans at home or abroad a day of peace, and I thank you and your families from the bottom of my heart for all the sacrifices you have made and continue to make.

Christy

Tony