Do you acknowledge them every day when you see them in a store or public place, the veteran?  Does anyone talk about their bravery, discipline, or the grief they experienced? The bravery they showed when they fought on the battlefield. The discipline to rise before dawn and work before other people’s feet have even touched the floor, the grief they have because some of their closest friends have passed away before their eyes. 

Veterans are the icons of bravery. They give their heart and soul to be the heart and soul of our great nation. When they put their uniform on to fight they knew there was a chance of not coming back or not being able to see everyone they mentally loved again. They did it anyway for the better of our country.

They had the best discipline in the world to push themselves to painful and uncomfortable tasks that made them stronger mentaly and physically.  So that they could protect people they did and didn't know. So that their team could be in the toughest of situations and strategize and not enter the battlefield firing rapidly, firing as if they were nothing, as if they had nothing to lose their family loved ones, and their own life. That is the discipline that every great American envies not because they woke up a couple of minutes earlier but because it lasted long and saved themselves and others.

The grief and trauma the veteran experiences are one like no other. They watched some people never make it back to see the ones they love. The trauma of bullets flying past them the bombs exploding countless people trying to kill them for nothing he has done wrong but what he has done right for trying to honor his country. Honor the soldier and the sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. “ Honor, also, who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as best he can, the same cause.”(Abraham Lincoln) I want to be that brother who honors the veteran, who cares for them when nobody else looks their way and acknowledges their struggle.

  In conclusion, veterans should be treated with respect and integrity for what they have done. They made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be here. The bravery, discipline, and grief they went through for you, me, and America. We take that for granted every day so much that we don't even care. Be the difference in this nation, be the change in America.