No, really. Thank you for your service
Trent Reedy
Recently, my daughter’s third grade class was tasked with singing at her school’s Veterans Day assembly. She wanted me to attend, perhaps because she wanted to tell other kids about her father serving with the Army in the war in Afghanistan. I didn’t want to attend a “Thank you for your service” rally, frustrated and disgusted as I am by the pointless and destructive way that President Joe Biden laid to waste everything we fought, suffered, and sacrificed for in Afghanistan by pulling out of that country precipitously, for no reason, betraying Afghan allies to the Taliban in August of 2021. But eventually, I gave in and attended.
It was a good assembly, coordinated by a former Army National Guard band member, Staff Sgt. Shaun Kelly, about whom I told you in April of 2022. A band played Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” A Girl Scout troop presented the flag. All rose for the national anthem. I used to nearly weep with pride during the anthem. Now my composure’s threatened by the shame of the realization that America has lost war after war for 80 years.
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The principal explained to the children that our military protects Americans and helps people around the world. I thought of my Afghan interpreter still trapped in Afghanistan. I remembered one of my unit’s Afghan guards, who for months was subjected to brutal torture in a Taliban cell. As he suffered, did he think about how terribly America had betrayed him?
Mr. Kelly asked veterans to sing as the band played the service branch songs. One man belted the “Marines’ Hymn” with a hearty oorah at the end. I couldn’t bring myself to sing, “Then it’s Hi! Hi! Hey! / The Army’s on its way…” when the song might be sung more accurately, “Then it’s Hi! Hi! Hey! / The Army runs away!”
The morning after Veterans Day, I enjoyed a cigar in my Creativity Circle, a ring of boulders I’ve arranged on my land. As I watched the smoke fade like my once-unshakeable faith in our military, I considered how that clearing, though neglected and overgrown with weeds in recent years, is, like America, founded on solid rock.
The Washington Examiner, being conservative, is dedicated to a certain optimism that recognizes America’s many problems but still hopes for the country’s greatness. Each issue features Restoring America pieces. The desire to restore something, be it a classic car, my Creativity Circle, or America, necessarily requires a belief that the thing was once great and could be returned to greatness.
It seems to me that my fellow conservative writers harbor a belief that America is, despite its many difficulties, an essentially good country. We all have hope and strive for this ideal. Similarly, America’s military, though suffering under horrendous leadership, has comprised some of the best people. Veterans Day assemblies are all about the incredibly important task of instilling in our children the ideal of respect for our once and future great military. This column is returning to that optimistic aspiration toward that ideal.
Above all, conservatism is not a philosophy for people who wish to be victims. Conservatives don’t whine for others to repay their loans, nor do they proclaim the slogans of murderous Hamas terrorists, making the ridiculous claim that evil killers are somehow the ones suffering injustice. In my reluctance to celebrate my fellow veterans, in my too-frequent lamentations about our betrayed Afghanistan mission, I’ve indulged in victimhood, and I’ve lacked optimism. For that, I’m truly sorry.
All of you who have served in America’s military should be proud. Your hard work and sacrifice deserves respect and recognition. To that end, I encourage you to contact me. I’d be honored if you’d trust me with the chance to laugh, commiserate, and celebrate the service with you and with readers. It’s the time of year for giving thanks. I’m resolving to bring you more of the military stories you deserve, because I am thankful for you, faithful reader.
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Trent Reedy, author of several books including Enduring Freedom, served as a combat engineer in the Iowa National Guard from 1999 to 2005, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
*Some names and call signs in this story may have been changed due to operational security or privacy concerns.