Wait, there's more......................
Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what
they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn
and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it
a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example
of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services
do what they do for a living.
This is a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never
served think of our military.
JOHN GLENN ON THE SENATE FLOOR Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004
Senator Howard Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn:
"How can you run for the Senate when you've never held a real job?"
Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps.
I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by
anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program.
It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was
not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash
receipts to the bank.
I ask you to go with me ... as I went the other day... to a veteran's
hospital and look those men, with their mangled bodies, in the eye,
and tell THEM they didn't hold a job!
You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone,
to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee...
and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their Dads didn't
hold a job.
You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National
Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember,
and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about
this nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job?
I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum; you should be on your knees every
day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN -
who held REAL jobs.
And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country
and a dedication to duty that was more important than life itself.
And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible.
I HAVE held a job, Howard! What about you?"
For those who don't remember - During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was
an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA!
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