Thank you, veterans

Scott Loftis

Editor’s Note: This column originally was published on Nov. 7, 2022. It is reprinted today, with minor updates, in observance of Veterans Day on Saturday, Nov. 11.

I never served in the military. I came close at one time. Having all but flunked out of college, I was all set to enlist in the Navy in the summer of 1989.

The recruiter wanted me to sign up for a seven-year hitch on a nuclear submarine, as I recall, based on my aptitude testing. That made me a little nervous. Seven years is a long commitment to something I might have found I didn’t especially enjoy. And then a good friend and mentor recommended me for a newspaper job, as sports editor of the Baxter Bulletin in Mountain Home. I interviewed and was offered the job. The job paid $5 an hour, but the duties were to watch a lot of sports. I can do that. So, no Navy for me.

My lack of military service makes me a bit of an anomaly in my family. Neither of my brothers served either, but my dad was a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam. His dad, my grandfather, was a Marine who served in the South Pacific during World War II. And both my sons, Ronnie and Ryan, served in the Marine Corps Reserves. Ronnie is now a member of the Army National Guard and is nearing completion of Officer Candidate School. In his spare time, he’s a Sherwood police officer.

Going back even further, my great-greatgreat- grandfather and five of his brothers served for the Confederacy during the Civil War. My direct ancestor survived, although he lost an eye. One of his brothers died in a Yankee prison camp and another on the battlefield at Stone Mountain. A third brother died on the way home after contracting something called “black-tongue fever.”

As a matter of fact, my ancestry traces back to at least one soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War. It’s a record of service that I’m proud of, even though I didn’t contribute to it.

The thing that all those relatives of mine have in common, stretching back nearly 250 years ago, is that they were willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause they believed in. I might not necessarily agree with all of those causes, but I didn’t live in those times and that’s a discussion for another day.

I know I’ve devoted quite some space to talking about my family, but I’m quite certain that we aren’t unique. In fact, we’ve been pretty fortunate: My grandfather came home from World War II and my dad from Vietnam. There are so many families who weren’t as blessed, and their sacrifices surely deserve all our respect.

Of course, there is a day set aside to honor those who’ve given their lives in service to our nation. That’s Memorial Day. This Saturday is Veterans Day. That’s the day when we honor those who have served and remain with us. It’s a day when we recognize their service and sacrifice and all they’ve given and done so that we may live free.

To all the veterans in Carroll County and across our state and country, I thank you for everything you’ve done for me, and for all of us.

••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@CarrollCoNews. com