It's Still Veteran's Day

USA USN USMC USCG USAF

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day. As far as I’m concerned, so is today. This is not the kind of remembering we owe at the same level as Halloween or Valentine’s Day, a day to be noted, given a token respect and them move on. Rather, we need to stop and think about what we have been given.

First, a quick review of the blog commemoration:

LaShawn Barber has a round-up of Veteran’s Day blogging

Military.com has a video tribute to all servicemen

Milblogging has the thoughts and words of actual Military bloggers

And of course, I could not mention Veterans and Blogging without noting my personal favorite veteran blogger, Baldilocks.


Take a few moments and have another look and thought for the people who served to give us our most precious rights.

In conclusion, I mentioned yesterday that post-9/11 recruits are not nearly the desperate low-income, no-hope, in-it-for-some-employment losers that the Left would have you believe. I received an e-mail yesterday about one of the new recruits:

“I saw your post today about who exactly is enlisting and thought I'd forward you a little item we published nearly a year ago. We picked it up from the New York Observer. Folks like Gavriel are why this country is so great. (btw, our site is subscriber-only – I have to feed the kids somehow. But feel free to use this in any way you wish.)

“Former BofA Equity Analyst Killed in Iraq

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Dimitrios Gavriel, a former equity research analyst in Banc of America Securities' real estate unit, was killed last week in a battle in Falluja, Iraq, according to a report in the New York Observer.

Gavriel, 29, was a lance corporal in the United States Marines, which he had joined after being laid off from BofA in 2002, according to the newspaper. He had graduated from Brown University and soon joined PaineWebber. He then joined J.P. Morgan Chase's real estate unit and moved with it first to Credit Suisse First Boston then to BofA.

According to the Observer, Gavriel had received a job offer just before Marine boot camp. The newspaper quoted a friend who said Gavriel told him that he would be miserable had he not gone to boot camp. Gavriel had suffered a leg injury a week before going on a mission in Falluja.”

Veterans’ stories are worth a second look. And a third. And a fourth...