Veterans Day and Heroes

Who is your hero? And why? My hero is my brother. Ranger Ethan Graves. Today it's only fitting that I show him some respect on my blog.

I find it disheartening that so many people overlook a day like today, Veteran's Day. Those people have either (a) never served in our armed forces and/or (b) never had a close loved one who's served our nation.

My brother served his time in the Army and has been in the reserves for a few years. In 2006 they took him out of reserve duty and stationed him in Afghanistan. Remarkably during that year as a Squad Leader, he brought ALL of his men home alive.

Amazing actually considering the fighting he was involved in. The number of ambushes they endured. The number of times they were called in to go rescue other troops who had been ambushed and were under fire and needed help getting out.

During his time there, he hit 3 IEDs. It's amazing he survived one blast, let alone 3.

The results of his time in Afghanistan landed him with a collapsed vertebrae disc and another one that is slowly collapsing.

He's been home since 2007. He's in extreme pain, sometimes he can't stand up. The pain is excruciating. The military sends him to doctor after doctor - and rather than fix his back, they'd prefer to dope him up on pain pills and muscle relaxers.

And throughout all the pain...he soldiers on.

I nearly lost my brother not once, not twice, not even three times. The IEDs were just 3 events he went through. Taking your troops into the midst of a full-out war zone to save others is not an easy task. But a necessary one. And one that he did well.

Most American's are thankless - because they just don't know. They don't comprehend. That or they just don't care. And for that, I pity your ignorance.

There are so many brave men and women who put their lives on the line daily for your freedom, for our freedom.

The United States is the land of opportunity, where you can lead your life as you choose. Find a soldier today and thank them for the gift of freedom that they give you.

Ethan - I love you. I thank you. My kids thank you. You're their hero too you know.

And to all those other soldiers, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.