I was a bit startled at the Cleveland National Airshow over Labor Day weekend, wearing my vintage U.S. Army dress uniform and carrying my peace flag, when a gentleman of a certain age said, “Thank you for my freedom.” This Vietnam veteran said rather tersely, as the gentleman shook my hand, “You’re giving me too much credit. The Viet Cong had no interest in taking away your freedom. We pulled out of Vietnam in 1973. The Viet Cong did not come over here and try to take away your freedoms.” The gentleman said nothing and walked away, likely pondering my comment.
One young man who I think may have been one of the jet plane pilots at the air show, thanked me for my service. I said, “It wasn’t my idea. I got drafted. “When people say thank you for serving our country, I sometimes say, ‘I didn’t serve my country. I served deceitful, lying fear-mongering war-mongering politicians and their war-profiteering bed partners.” He said, “Some wars are necessary.” I agreed, to some extent, saying, “Hitler had to be stopped. But Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan were unnecessary and unwinnable wars.” He said, “I don’t disagree with that.”
I had a lengthy chat with Christina, a flight attendant for United Airlines. She is a solid supporter of Donald Trump (which I am not) so I focused on the good things about Trump–few though they may be. I said to Tina, as she likes to be called, “Trump did not start a war while he was in office. And he wanted us to get out of Afghanistan, seeing it as wasteful and unending”. Tina asked a passerby to take our photo with her phone, which he did, and Tina emailed it to me.
An army veteran who had graduated from Kent State University’s ROTC program was quite taken with all of my anti-war observations, especially when I told him “Those truly serving our country are medics, nurses, doctors and mental health professionals who work very very hard to mend as best they can, the psyches and bodies of those savaged and ravaged by war. They’re the real war heroes. Not those who kill and destroy. That’s not heroic. It’s barbaric”. The army veteran was a member of the 82nd Airborne division and had received training in intelligence work at Fort Huachuca, in Arizona, established in 1877 as Camp Huachuca. He said he was able to use his intelligence training in his civilian job working for a security organization.
One gentleman who shook my hand was impressed I still fit in my uniform. I said, “I’m sucking in my gut as we speak. I really don’t need a belt to hold these pants up.” He smiled.
One young woman made my day when she said, “You look very handsome.” Of course I said, “Thank you.” A young man annoyed by my presence made a derogatory remark about my peace flag. I said, “The stars are in hiding. They’re embarrassed”, the implication being the stars are not pleased with what our government has done when it comes to war. The aggrieved man kept on walking, saying nothing.
A little boy asked if I was in the Air Force and I said, “No. In the Army”. He said his grandfather was in the Air Force. I said, “We were on the same team, but we played different positions.” The boy’s father smiled.
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