Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

This year, I celebrated Veterans Day early by traveling to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin on Thursday, Nov. 6 to deliver a keynote address to soldiers, veterans and their family members at a prayer luncheon held to honor our vets. Veterans Day was established by President Woodrow Wilson to honor veterans of World War I. It was later expanded to honor and thank military personnel who have served in all wars.

I had the privilege of serving as a chaplain in the United States Army Reserve for 23 years. Last week’s visit was a bit like old home week, since 19 of those 23 summers were spent at Fort McCoy for annual training.

When the Post Commander was kind enough to offer me a tour of the facilities, I immediately thought I should dust off my boots, put on my BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) and get my rucksack ready, thinking that I might be going out to the field and sleeping under the stars. Really, I had spent 19 summers there – could it be any different? However, I must admit: the new Fort McCoy is far different than the one I left in 2004. Computers, high tech machinery, battle areas which resemble Afghanistan and Iraq, and robotic manikins, all this to prepare soldiers for what may happen on the battlefield by simulating the situations they might encounter.

What my time as a chaplain made clear to me was that the strength of our country’s military was not in the vast arsenal of weapons or technology that the United States possessed, but rather in the living and breathing men and women who understood the commitment they made. They took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They were defending me.

My years in the military have reinforced the notion that those in the military are the greatest advocates of peace. Former President Jimmy Carter, himself a veteran, stated: “Those who love peace most are those who serve in the Armed Forces and whose lives would first be lost if conflict occurs.” But, this desire for peace should not be mistaken for lack of resolve to defend the freedoms we enjoy. Terrorists have little concern for their actions; their brutality indicates that they have little or no respect for human beings. Our veterans have demonstrated time and time again their appreciation for the dignity of life – even the lives of their enemies. 

The collective uniform of our Armed Forces has united us in ways that secular society cannot imagine. It creates solidarity. People standing in a military assembly may be Evangelical, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon or Catholic. They may be Caucasian, African American, Hispanic or Asian, but they are one.

Certainly, every time our country has had the need to call upon our men and women to defend our country, we have grown in our awareness despite our cultural differences. We were changed as a country after WWI, WWII and the Korean War. We suffered with our returning soldiers from Vietnam who were treated so poorly. Even in our most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, our soldiers have returned not only with an understanding of the Middle East and the differences in our ways of life, but also with an appreciation for the struggles of a culture.

The strength of our country can always be discovered in the character of the men and women who wear and have worn the uniform. To them, I say thank you. But thanks must also be supported by the way I treat returning veterans, those who have lost limbs and suffer from the trauma of war. This means supporting policies that demand that our veterans have access to quality health care and those that don’t allow our veterans to be used as an object of political ping pong.

Veterans Day was established so that we would not forget to thank and honor those who have served. In this way, we also hope to inspire future generations who may be called upon to wear the uniform in protection of our freedoms.

Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, a Marine chaplain, stated: “It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, and not the organizer, who gave us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.”

Brothers and Sisters who currently serve and are veterans, thank you for protecting my freedoms and know of my prayers of gratitude before God for your service. In protecting the freedoms given to us by God, you indeed LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Note: This blog originally appeared as the November 11, 2014 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.