Writing Challenge — Thank A Veteran

Confiscate a Veteran and Give Them a Hug

Thank You For Your Service

Free poster to download courtesy of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Writing Challenge: If anyone would like to Thank a Veteran through an essay of your own, make sure to use #ThankaVeteran and tag DR Rawson - USAF. Apparently, he’s going to read some on the air. The deadline is midnight, November 11, 2021.

If you had asked me 10 or 20 years ago if I’d write a thank you essay to the U.S. Veterans, I would have said, “Nah, I’ll pass.” I grew up with a pacifist father who didn’t believe in war. But that’s not the point because we all know that war will exist. People get angry and do silly things to incite governments and countries to retaliate. That’s my simple-minded version of why war exists. Don’t throw tomatoes at me. Look back up at my title. It’s not clickbait. People change. I’m in awe of the hearts and souls of military women and men. I might just confiscate a veteran and give them a hug this Veteran’s Day.

I grew up in war-torn countries, surrounded by men in uniform, wrapped in their bullets and guns. As a small girl, these men scared me.

I hear about women who swoon over men in uniforms. Nope, not me. As I was growing up, men in uniforms generally meant that trouble followed. I had a fear of people in uniform. When I say fear, I’m…