We may not have your picture hanging on our wall
We will never see all of your faces or even your names
You may receive your honor in secret because what you did for our sake was behind enemy lines
But your acts of sacrifice are marked indelibly in the ether of time
Every time we breathe air in liberty we are surrounded by the brave souls who fought to secure that liberty
The pictures can never tell us what you saw, felt, heard, or suffered at the hands of others.
We cannot see the inner scars that never heal or know the nightmares that repeat.
Though you have kept millions secure, your pain is individual.
You may not have served in a battlefield yet you were willing in the gap for us, and sacrificed in your own way.
Out at the pointy end of the spear of Justice.
Arbiters of peace
The hands of mercy
The faces of hope.
Torture, wounded, tormented, taunted, rejected, ridiculed, spit at, watched your beloved flag burned, and bore it all with grace.
This you did for people you do not know, for generations of people who will never know your name, or who will not honor you because of your race or your gender.
Those who hold you in our hearts know that every time we say that we see "Old Glory" flying high it is because YOU were there in places we'll never see, doing work that may never be revealed.
Shamelessly we cry when we hear the National Anthem sung or see a child lay flowers at a grave
Tears of pride, mixed with the humble knowledge that we can never ever say enough to thank you
Our hearts feel sorrow that some have died for sake of the honor of our country.
We are obligated to you in ways we can never repay.
Time may obscure the many deeds from view but bravery forever changes what it touches.
In that way Veterans, past, present, and future, take heart bravery is your legacy; continue to march with her on your shoulders.
An original poem By Mrs. Sergeant First Class Thomas A. Wilson. November 11, 2013
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