You have heard the statement said of someone who had the right, indeed the unquestioned credentials that would correctly enable him to brag about his past accomplishments but who refused to do so because in this case this former serviceman wanted instead his reputation to rest on his present not his past deeds.
Some of his past experiences that would surely qualify him for our praise and admiration would include his past military service and his personal life changing sacrifice as a soldier who served his country in the Far East at a war zone called Viet Nam.
Although he defers to talk about his past experiences; still his military record speaks for itself. He served his country honorably and to the extreme by almost losing his life. In a combat encounter he was severely wounded by an explosion of a land mine that in past wars would have been fatal but because of professional trauma treatment, the medics through quick intervention were able to perform a medical miracle saving his life but not without a devastating cost. He lost both legs and was given an unwanted, additional title: paraplegic, a lifelong badge of courage. It gave him another challenge in life: to be able to perform an ordinary task, that is to walk anonymously, unnoticed and unassisted.
The battles did not end in the jungles of Asia but continued as he fought yet another enemy, his handicap that he was determined to overcome, not an easy task. He spent months facing various treatments and even longer period of time in rehabilitation, all encounters accompanied with pain. He learned early the lesson he had to pay for slow success: no pain, no gain.
Although the wounds lingered; still he was able to return to civilian life as a hero in the eyes of many. In the meantime, there would be months of further treatments to improve and to maintain his ongoing progress: to walk with his wounds unobserved.
Because of his injury, he was unable immediately to enter the civilian workforce and consequently was eligible for veterans’ and Social Security disability compensations. This provided him with financial independence, but it also increased his already steadfast determination to make it on his own. In order to accept a civilian job, he had to make an important decision: accept the job and lose his Social Security disability benefits but in his opinion in order to improve himself and gain his independence, he felt he had to accept the offer, a decision that was not without some risk. Could he compete successfully despite his past service history? He fully understood that once he renounced his government assistance, he was on his own. He had one powerful motivation: to maintain his self-respect. He refused to be a victim but rather to be a winner by his own efforts. He chose employment. Things went as he planned until later when he began to suffer from a re occurrence of his medical, service connected problems and lack of employment opportunities to the point that he needed to reapply for the Social Security disability that he now needed. His plans were thwarted however when his reapplication for admittance to the program was rejected. Sad to say despite his appeals for renewed benefits even with the assistance of veterans’ organizations and the backing of several well-known business leaders and prominent politicians, he was left to fight unsuccessfully his latest but continuing battle.
His perceived ‘enemy’ is the government he has so courageously served. Its action in his case he felt was contrary to President Abraham Lincoln’s statement that our country would never forget those veterans who served their country.
Today there are some who would respectfully remind this veteran that he should never have given up his disability pension in the first place, but he has no regrets. His belief is that when he was able to work, he had an obligation to do so despite risks if for no other reasons than to maintain his independence, dignity and pride. He was strongly influenced by the famous quote by President Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”
What price can one place on such noble qualities?
“Self respect – the corner-stone of all virtue.” Sir John Herschel
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Bill Lee, PO Box 128,
Hamer, SC 29547
