Honor, Duty, Country.

Two months ago at a breakfast meeting someone I admire very much looked me dead in the eye and said “You are unique because you are so patriotic, yet have never served in the military.” I was a bit taken aback by this statement as I felt that my love and concern for our country was not something remarkable. I’m no different from the next fellow down the road, or next door or even in my family, for I believe there are few amongst those people who can say they love not this nation. Yet, here was my friend Jack, a proud Navy veteran casually expressing surprise. I dismissed his statement with a weak joke and a change of topic, but something has been gnawing at the back of my brain since and I feel that today, being Veterans Day, it would be appropriate to flush it all out. For it is through the Veterans of my family that this ardor came to be.

Honor, Duty, Country.

My uncle, Master Sergeant Frank Butler, was a combat Veteran who fought through three tours of duty in Vietnam including the Tet offensive of 1968. He went to war because his country asked him to, and to be blunt because it was the right thing to do. Frank watched as his friends and comrades were torn to shreds in ambushes and on patrol. He experienced the hardship, sacrifice and pain of warfare first hand, privations he would hint at, only rarely, when drunk.

While he slogged through the Jungle his friends and family back home continued on with their peaceful every day lives. They had jobs, built families, and got married all while Sergeant Butler was half a world away fighting for his life and the lives of his comrades. He was married too, not out of love, but necessity. He was wed to his 12 gauge pump action shotgun, which he explained was the finest bush fighting weapon ever devised. His job was to “Demoralize, murder, and maim” the enemy into submission, which he did without fail every single day.

When he returned in the summer of 1971, the world he had left was changed considerably. There were no parades, which I don’t think he would have marched in anyway, or general support for the troopers coming home. The only attention you were likely to receive from the media would be if you were unlucky enough to be in a body bag. Outside of that, no one seemed to notice or care, except loved ones and family. After three years of fighting, Frank was just happy to be at home where no one was trying to kill him.

I know the pain of those years wore heavily on Uncle Frank, I could see it in his eyes every now and again. Darkness would shadow his piercing gaze and a sense of melancholy would overtake him, these spells lasted not long, perhaps five to fifteen seconds or so, but they were frightening all the same. Once he caught me staring and noticed my concern. “Don’t worry Allen, it’s nothing.” He said and then he cracked a crude joke to make us laugh.

Frank instilled in me a respect for the military and its purpose. He taught me that it is the trooper, airman, and sailor that secure the freedoms and security of our land. Without whom we very well may be subject to the barbarities of warfare here in our very homes. He hated communism and socialism with a personal passion as he had witnessed what those systems could bring about, which was explained to me in some detail.

Sergeant Frank Butler was a great man, and I am proud to say I knew him. He went to serve his country because he knew it was the honorable thing to do. He understood that to maintain freedom, and liberty, one sometimes has to fight, and it was his duty to answer the call of his country. This was and is a very important lesson to learn especially at a young age, a lesson I have carried with me my entire life.
From the toils of my forebears I have received the gifts of liberty and opportunity, for generations my family has fought in the wars of this nation, without complaint, from the American Civil war to Vietnam, they answered the call of duty and gave their all. Frank was but one man of many who share my blood, and it is my duty, and my honor to remember them all with gratitude.

From such comes my ardor and love of this country it was passed to me by a hand strong and a heart true. Look to those of your family today and thank those who are either serving or have served, for they are examples of what is good and right.

Honor,Duty,Country.

Allen Butler