No, I’m not joking. I think many veterans are real heroes, and not because they simply put on a uniform and went overseas. I have had many veterans write me, and several this week, and say that they refuse to stand and be recognized in a church or other places where veterans are asked to stand so they can be worshiped. The reasons they give are usually either that they are ashamed that they enlisted and fought some foreign war or that they don’t think that they should be recognized just for having what was to them a job. Sometimes both, and sometimes some others. These veterans are the real heroes, along with those who speak out about the horrors of war.

The Best of Laurence M. Vance