Not long ago, on a blustery November day, I made a wrong turn in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and found myself in an unfamiliar neighborhood. I stopped to ask directions and then made the necessary turns right and left, rejoining the proper route on a boulevard near the Grand River. I glanced to my right as I accelerated away from a stop sign and for a moment my stomach knotted and my heart inexplicably raced.

My eyes went back to the right and focused on a Korean Era Quonset hut I recognized as the home of the local Naval Reserve unit. My memory flashed back 35 years when, in that very building and on almost the same November date, I had taken my Oath of Enlistment and joined the US Coast Guard. A flood of emotions ran over me, just as they did then. I questioned myself; had I done the right thing? What would my life be today had I accepted that college scholarship or taken that job the State of Michigan had offered, rather than facing the question of involuntary service head on?

In 1967 there was little doubt among most young men in high school that their commitment to the US Constitution would soon be tested in a very personal way. There was a meat grinder working overtime in Southeast Asia and we all knew what was going into it and coming out of it. Over three decades later very few volunteers can truly say the path they took was invevitable, but we all know the process changed us in many ways.

Meeting the obligations to our active duty and veteran service personnel goes far beyond the normal pay and allowances granted by the US Treasury. A personal debt is accepted by America each time one of its young citizens is allowed to recite an enlistment oath. The oath is a solemn vow to protect our nation from its enemies. Implicit within this oath is a promise to give their life if necessary. We do not ask our youth to blindly follow an idiomatic dogma in return for some nebulous reward or promise they will be remembered as martyrs. We ask them to accept the premise and belief that freedom demands sacrifice.

I want to remind every American that service obligations don't always require the ultimate sacrifice, but they always take something of value. It is too easy to discount the months, or years, of training invested into learning to be a soldier, support specialist, or technician. For many the process of learning how to be 'military' is a painful transition with lifelong implications. Dreams are left behind; college is set aside, families are separated, and career pathways are altered forever.

If you don't believe we owe anything, just look into the faces of our military personnel as they depart for overseas assignments. Their gaze is fixed upon their families and every fiber of their being tells them they should stay; but they turn away and answer their call to duty. That is the finest test of courage and resolve we will ever see - and it demands our honest appreciation.

Remember, "Ride today - Tommorow you may not be able!"

-LW