Every Generation

I have to say the United States military is a beautiful thing. Young men join an organization that is a thousand times bigger than they and it requires everything they have, perhaps giving even their lives unto death. The people you meet and the places you see will never be forgotten. And yet when I was in the Marine Corps at the end of the Cold War, I was but one of millions of Americans that served their country under arms and I would not be the last.

Did you know that America has fought a major war every 20 to 30 years of its existence? Since 1775 when the first shots were fired at Concord, Americans have been in near constant battle in terms of 20 to 30 year cycles. Every generation of Americans since the founding of our Republic has been involved in war. Amazing to think about , really.

War of Independence - 1775 - 1783
War of 1812 - 1812 - 1815
Mexican American War - 1846 - 1848
War between the States - 1861 - 1865
Spanish American War - 1898 - 1899
World War One - 1917 -1919
World War Two - 1941 - 1945
Korean War - 1950 - 1953
Vietnam War - 1963 - 1973
Gulf War - 1991 - 1991
War on Terror- 2001 - present

And in between these major engagements we had lesser "wars" such as subduing the American heartland from the indian tribes that roamed the land at will to sending Marines to faraway places such as Tripoli, Haiti, Nicaragua and Greneda.

What can I say? We are a people at war. Peace is a commodity both rare and precious to the Americans. And what makes America even more of an enigma is the people are Christian in general terms. You might even say Americans wage war religiously! Even when President Bush was eulogizing the dead at the National Cathedral four days after 9/11 the last song to be sung was the Battle Hymm of the Republic. What an emotional and glorious song it is and how "religious" as well.

The so called "baby-boomer" generation that was born right after WWII and entered the "VietNam Era" was really an anamoly. Their actions and conduct seem out of place in American history, however, more Americans served in the military than those who refused active duty service. Yes, there were protests and desertions that the media amplified unjustly but then every war has its traitors and deserters. Even as the culture seemed to collapse into liberal anarchy, that generation of fighting men stood against the coward and preserved the hallowed and honored tradition of the American fighting spirit. They were the true Americans as the "hippie" was the ersatz patriot. Just as Patton would say "Every true American loves the sting of battle!".

Waging war is the American way.