November 11, 2007, Veteran's Day~

Dear Journal~

Ronee' here.

I am writing to tell you about my grandpere' Armand P. Moliere'. He's a veteran, a veteran of the war. He was in the service (Army Air Corps, now called the Air Force) when he was in his early twenties; he was in for only two years. He would have been in longer; they soon discovered that he had flat feet; therefore, he was (honorably) discharged.

Grandpere' wanted to serve his country, wanted to see the world. He never got very far; the furthest he went was to Biloxi, Mississippi, to the Air Force base there. He had a hard time trying to follow orders (plus at the time he didn't speak much English); the military people gave him a very hard time about that.

The military people worked my grandpere' hard; made his life in the service a living you-know-where. Still, he tried his best; it soon ended up that after a particularly bad episode of severe foot pain, they found he had flat feet, so they, more or less, let him go.

He was devastated. He wanted desperately to serve his nation, wanted to see the world; yet he didn't go very far. He felt he had a lot to offer the world. He was good with his hands, he could fix things like air conditioners, vehicles, even do plumbing/electrical work. He was multi-talented.

The military people didn't see that. All they saw was a stupid Cajun man who didn't have more than a grade school education, a man who didn't speak much in the way of English, and a man who was stubborn as a mule. They figured he'd be more trouble than what he was actually worth. They found any excuse to let him go; that is exactly what they did.

Grandpere' Armand now gets a check from the VA every month. He is now considered "disabled"; he gets something like 80%. He was getting only something like 50%, but as he gets older and more health problems set in (mianly with his heart and his walking), his disability VA pay has been increased, which has been a blessing to hm.

He gets (mostly) free medical care, he gets to get free transportation to and from his VA appointments, he gets discounts on different services for veterans, and he's a member of the DAV (Disabled American Veterans). His hospital bills are taken care of by the VA and by concerned friends or family; he isn't lacking for anything--excepting for respect--or the lack of it.

During parades or military celebrations, he is incensed when he sees people thumbing their noses or making rude comments about our nation, particularly our nation's military heroes. He thinks that they deserve nothing but the best (and rightfully so); to see them getting the shaft is enough to raise his blood pressure or make his heart act up (again).

When he sees people spitting on the American flag or hearing about the military being charged with "war crimes" in Iraq (or elsewhere), it's enough to break his heart; he isn't afraid to show his emotions openly, for everyone to see.

He is very passionate about rights for the American veteran; he's the one you'll find at veteran's events or at the VA hospital, visiting veterans every month, anything to try to bring them a little cheer.

I am his granddaughter; I see him at the parades, see how people act around him. When they act happy to see him or be around him, then I'm happy; if he is sad or unhappy, then I feel it too.

It breaks my heart that nothing is really being done to make life easier for our veterans (particularly the disabled veterans), and it breaks my heart that we only seem to remember the veterans only a few times a year instead of every day, which is the way it should be.

So as the grandchild of a veteran, let me wish ALL our veterans a happy Veteran's Day! May we ALL remember the sacrifices you made in order to keep us free; may we be forever in your debt to pay homage to what you have done for us as a nation.

We owe you more than you can imagine; you are our nation's true heroes/heroines; all I can really say right now is this, two little words that I hope will mean as much to you as they do to me:

Thank you. Thank you for serving. God bless ALL our veterans, past, current, and future!

~Ronee' Le-Anne Reaux, aged 14 3/4 (granddaughter of Armand P. Moliere', US veteran, Army-Air Corps). :(

*Salute!*