Young George

Last weekend I played golf at San Juan Hills and they paired me up with a feisty older gentleman named George. I always like meeting new people at the golf course and I especially enjoy hearing their “stories” while we get to know each other. George was older than me but he had a really nice swing and he definitely had an interesting “story”.

After some coaxing I found out George was 71 and that he grew up during the Vietnam War era. He lied about his age at 17 so that he could join the Navy and fight for our country. When he snuck out of his parent’s house and went to the recruiter’s office, he discovered it was a combination of several different military branches. As it happened the Navy Recruiter was at lunch, so George spoke to the Marine Corps Recruiter who easily talked him into joining the Marines with the promise it would be much more exciting.

George did two full tours of duty in Vietnam. He served his country with pride, garnering several medals for valor during combat and he told me that on his way home he felt pretty good about himself despite all the physical and emotional trauma he had suffered. As soon as I heard George was a military veteran, I put out my hand to firmly shake his hand and thank him for his service.

George smiled and said, “Thank you! A lot of people have been reacting the same way the past few years, thanking me for my service, and it’s quite the opposite of the reaction I received when I first came home from the war. I asked him what he meant and he said that when he landed at the JFK Airport in New York in 1969, still proudly wearing his military uniform with multiple medals, a young long-haired man with a beard and beads around his neck approached him with his hand out. George assumed that he was being greeted warmly for his service, but instead the young man asked him if he was just now returning from Vietnam. When George said yes, the young man spit in his face. George told me that he reacted without thinking and punched the man squarely in the nose. A New York Police Officer just happened to be nearby, saw what happened and immediately took George into a back room area. The policeman didn’t say much… just that the “dirty hippie” got what he deserved and then he graciously let George go on his way.

George’s story touched a nerve inside me, probably because my Dad and Grandfather were both in the Marine Corps and for that reason I have the utmost respect for all military personnel.  I don’t know if America’s involvement in the Vietnam War was right or wrong and it’s not for me to decide. What I do know is that the servicemen and women who bravely put their lives on the line every day for the rest of us…deserve our total respect. I am so glad I shook George’s hand and I am extremely thankful that there are people like George who have made life easier and safer for all of the rest of us. If you know someone in the military, take time today to thank them for their service. Let us not forget our “he-roes and “she-roes”!