Appreciate OUR Troops

December 10, 2007  

NBC first rejected, then reversed course and accepted under pressure from viewers, a TV ad from Freedom’s Watch, a conservative group that supports administration policy in Iraq and asks viewers to remember and thank U.S. troops during the holiday season.  I find it hard to understand why showing appreciation for our troops during the holidays, or any other time, should be so difficult.

In rejecting the ad, NBC claimed they declined to air it because it contained a link to Freedom Watch’s web site, an organization the network’s management considered too political.  They expressed no concern about the ad itself which simply showed everyday Americans saying thanks to men and women in uniform.

The Freedom’s Watch home page frequently criticizes liberals, and it links to a page that urges lawmakers not to "cut and run" from Iraq.  It also links to another Freedom's Watch page listing ways to assist the troops and provides links to organizations that send care packages to them.

Before NBC announced it had reversed its decision on Dec 8, former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, called for a boycott of NBC until they agreed to show the ad.  Popular FOX News commentator, Bill O’Reilly, accused NBC of anti-Bush, anti-American bias.  Obviously, they weren’t the only ones who were outraged.

Disdain for the troops is no where near what it was during the Vietnam War.  Americans, most Americans at any rate, have learned to separate their dislike for a particular war and the administration in charge from their feelings about the men and women who serve in the military.  Vietnam and its aftermath taught us some hard lessons in that regard.

I still remember the unpleasant reception I got at the San Francisco Airport when I returned from Vietnam in October 1967.  Anti-war demonstrators shouted profane insults at me.  They called me a baby killer and encouraged me to desert.  That kind of thing rarely happens now.

Nevertheless, it appears that many who oppose the Iraq War and the Bush Administration find it difficult to openly express appreciation, or allow someone else to express appreciation, for the troops lest others confuse that with support for the war or the administration’s policies.  Given NBC and MSNBC's coverage of the Iraq War, it's not surprising that some people suspect that was their motive for refusing to air the ad.  Whatever the motivation, it's unfortunate and unfair to the troops.

Perhaps those who find it difficult to support the troops today because they fear others will misunderstand that support should consider who they are withholding appreciation from.

For more than 232 years tens of millions of Americans in the US Armed Forces have found themselves far from home during the holidays.  Frequently they are in places that are difficult to pronounce and hard to find on a map.  You only have to read the names of the 175 campaign streamers on the US Army Flag for a list of the most important.

This holiday season hundreds of thousands are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Japan, Korea, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines, and at military installations and US Embassies around the world.  Like their predecessors, but unlike any other great power in history, they aren’t there to dominate and exploit those places but to help protect and defend them. 

American forces may still be in Germany and Japan more than 60 years after the end of World War II, but they remain there as welcome guests of those governments after having helped them become vibrant democracies.

As I previously wrote on Memorial Day, 2006, “The American soldier, sailor, airman, and marine will go wherever he or she is sent and will fight gallantly and ferociously for as long as he or she is asked to under whatever conditions he or she encounters.  They will do this regardless of the tenor of the political debate at home or the reception they receive when they return.”

They ask little of their countrymen beyond the basics of a living wage, medical care for themselves and their families, retirement benefits, and recognition for their service.  They understand that what they do is truly service to their country, and they are proud of it.  They just want the rest of us to be proud of them.

In every war there are a few who dishonor the uniform and the flag under which they serve.  Their actions should never be an excuse not to honor and appreciate the 99.9 percent who serve honorably.

So what should we do to express our appreciation of the troops during this holiday season?  The choices are many.

The most common expression of support for the troops are those magnetic "Support Our Troops" yellow ribbon and American flag emblems people display on their cars.  They tell everyone who sees them, including men and women in uniform, that someone appreciates them.

You can send a letter or a care package to someone overseas.  Troops serving in combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan need and will appreciate those most.  There are plenty of websites on the internet, including the Freedom’s Watch website, that can help you do that.

You can donate money to places like the Fisher House an organization that helps the families of military personnel wounded Iraq and Afghanistan.  They provide a place for families to stay while visiting their sons and daughters in military hospitals, and they provide transportation to and from them.

If you do nothing else, every time you see a man or woman in uniform, think about the millions who have gone before them, and think about what your life and the lives of your family would be like if they weren’t who they are and hadn’t done what they’ve done.  Shake their hand and thank them for their service.  Each time you thank one of them, you thank all who came before them.

I wear a pin in my lapel of an award I received 40 years ago.  Strangers who recognize it still stop me on the street and thank me for my service.  When they do that, it makes me feel good.  Think about how it will make today's servicemen and women feel.