“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”

Cynthia Ozick

Today is Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, and Veterans Day.  In the U.S., banks are closed, the mail doesn’t run, and the U.S. Marines are shaking off the effects of the Marine Corps Ball.  Many, many grateful Americans have personally thanked me for my service as a military veteran.  “Thanks” which I awkwardly accept, but know is undeserved.  I didn’t enlist in the Corps for purely patriotic reasons, I knew I needed what the Corps had to give me, and it is the gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving.

It’s not just the Marine Corps, it’s the warrior culture.  When I was growing up in Australia, on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month, we all stopped what we were doing for a minute of silence.  One minute to reflect and be grateful for the very things that most deserve it, the sacrifices of those who gave themselves for future generations.

I still like to stop, wherever I am and observe that minute on Veterans Day, sharing that short 60-seconds with my brothers-in-arms, in collective gratitude to those we never knew, the friends we have lost, and the friends that made it home.

Each year, at this time, I receive notes from those that have made it home, letting me know we are still connected by bonds that span time and distance.  To each Marine, sailor, soldier, and airman, whether American, Australian, British, Canadian, New Zealander, or South African, and other allied comrades; to those living today, or those that have gone on before me; I am grateful for you, your valiant service, and for the eternal fraternity, into the ranks of which you have welcomed me to be a part.

Boo yah!