All my Uncles served in WWII, my Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease caused by the concussion of mortar shells when he was earning his Silver Star Medal as a Marine Machine gun Section Leader in Korea, a guy I knew growing up carries shrapnel from Vietnam, several of my NCO's in the Marines (77-80) had served in Vietnam, a Friend of mine contracted Hepatitis (infected by transfusion) after being wounded in the first Gulf War, and we also had at least one young man from this area (Laconia NH) killed serving with 10th Mountain Infantry in Iraq this time around.
Every Saturday we have 2-6 left over hippies holding a "Peace Vigil" downtown, my routine often requires me to go past them. As a student of history they infuriate me to the point where I once confronted one of them about a sign they display that reads "War is not the answer" I pointed out that war certainly answered Hitler. As a Veteran, Friend, acquaintance and relative of Veterans, I would really like to Taser these a*&holes, repeatedly.
However I recently had an epiphany (religious revelation) these peace activists are a genuine, living, oxymoron. They are exercising their first amendment rights to protest the injustice of war. HOWEVER, they only have that right because of the sacrifices made by other, better, braver, more public spirited people, IN WAR. If they were TRULY going to reject war and the spoils of war then they would surrender their right to free speech. The truth of the matter is that they are not protesting WAR, They are actually protesting their own cowardice and inadequacy by trying to demean Men and Women who have, through their own sacrifice, showed themselves to be better people than the "peace activists" could ever hope to be.