A Thank You to the Armed Services

In an effort to save money for the remainder of the summer, I have come back to visit North Carolina and my parents until classes begin in the fall.

I spend my days at the Robeson Community College campus library, reading treatises on Florida tort law. Law school is not easy, but the actual practice of law promises to be even more difficult and unforgiving. This is quite the all-consuming world for me, and it takes most of my time and energy. Coming back to my parents' house, though, reminds me of how different the world is for many other people. My parents live very close to Fayetteville and Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg, the world's largest army base, is home to the Green Berets and the famed 82nd Airborne Division. On a daily basis, planes and helicopters from the base fly over our house, and occasionally in the yard I can hear the low boom of artillery fire.

Just a short drive to the east is Camp Lejeune, the nation's largest Marine Corps base. I used to do work as a civilian on Camp Lejeune, and I remember the large oil paintings in the headquarters of the 2nd Military Expeditionary Force. The paintings depicted the exploits of that unit during the Pacific island-hopping campaign of World War Two.

Many veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, and Afghanistan remain in this area after their service is done. Local news outlets report on base activities and base casualties with more detail than the national media. It is sad to read in the paper about a new widow with a small child, or a soldier returning with severe brain damage, or a Marine missing in action in Afghanistan.

Honestly, these are things that I do not contemplate when I am in the middle of a semester in Tallahassee. To be even more honest, I probably will not dwell on it much after I graduate, either, when I am a lawyer out fighting for my clients. It is just too exhausting and depressing.

But I thought here would be a good time to say a simple "Thank You" to the veterans and the active members of the armed services. Because of their sacrifice and determination, I am able to drive from North Carolina to Florida in freedom, to study law at Florida State University, and to work at improving myself in our society. The options available to me in America are non-existent in most other countries of the world. The options are available here because our armed services have fought and continue to fight to preserve them. A blog entry "thank you" is nothing in the way of what our service members deserve, but it is what I can do.

So I say again, Thank You to our veterans and active military members who make our country the greatest on earth. I am appreciative of you and your bravery.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn