November 11, 2014 — Our speaker today was retired Marine Lt.Col.Daniel Bradley. Reflecting on Veteran’s Day he quoted from President Woodrow Wilson, who established Armistice Day in 1919: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of all the nations”.
In brief but emotional tone he described the life and background of a typical soldier or Marine. He probably has an older brother or other relative who served and to whom he looks up. He joins the service as a young man, marries young and begins a journey that will include multiple moves both for him as a warrior and his family who move when he does. There are times when he is in harm’s way, and his family equally bears the concern for his safety. He and his wife have two children who change schools many times. The wife attends 5 different colleges before she can complete her degree. As he advances in rank and responsibility, he, too, transfers through 10 colleges to complete the task. He applauds the G.I. Bill that has aided millions of veterans to achieve college goals. For the past 13 years the country has been in continual war, and for the first time in history there was no draft to support the collective army.
There have been 6800 deaths and 52,000 injured during these years. Due to advanced medical services the number of deaths is much below prior wars in relation to the size of the mobilization, and the civilian world has profited from this new knowledge as well. Many former military have chosen to go into law enforcement or firefighting as they have already had great training in leadership and responsibility. 2.4 million Veterans have started their own businesses. Many have succeeded although their stories are not often told. Others who left bad situations to join the service return to the same situations and desperately need help. And still others are serving in charitable efforts to assist their former comrades at arms. The greatest disability has been damage to the brain, a wound which is not visible to those around the veteran but is a severe medical problem. For every injured veteran there is a family equally injured as they try to cope with providing assistance.
In the past several months Charleston has seen the birth of the Palmetto Warriors Connection, a group dedicated to aiding veterans in find jobs, education options, and housing. The director of this group is former Charleston Rotary Club president, Jermaine Husser. The group is mainly made up of post 9/11 veterans.
Near the end of his presentation LtCol Bradley revealed that he was telling the story of his own family who traveled with him and supported him for 26 years. Turning to all in the group he asked that we all help veterans return with honor and respect, welcome them, get to know them, employ them and acknowledge that they are hardworking, know how to lead and know how to get the job done.
— Fred Sales