This Memorial Day, How Will You Honor And Thank A Veteran?

[Omaha Steve]

http://nhlabornews.com/2013/05/this-memorial-day-how-will-you-honor-and-thank-a-veteran/

By New Hampshire Labor News | May 27, 2013

A Message from Walter Wise, General President of the Iron Workers Union

As a fuel convoy gunner in Kuwait and Iraq, Nathan May crisscrossed the heart of the desert more times than he can count, traveling a total of more than 8,000 miles, only to return to the United States in 2010 with damaged hearing and haunting memories of roadside bombs and fire fights beneath the sweltering sun.

David Brightwell, Jr., served as an Army infantryman in the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan for just shy of five years when a grenade exploded beside his Humvee. David sustained a serious injury which almost cost him his leg. As he lay recovering for months in Walter Reed, all he could do was worry that his childhood dream of becoming an Ironworker like his dad and granddad would never come true.

Both of these proud, young warriors put their life on the line for our great country.

But Nathan wouldn’t let his damaged hearing and his struggle with PTSD get the best of him. Now, Nathan is an apprentice Ironworker with Local 492, Nashville, Tenn. Nathan works hard, saying that the rigor, training and discipline of ironwork are similar to that of soldiers. “The energy of ironwork is in me. I never felt so at home,” he explained.

While David Brightwell nearly lost his leg in Afghanistan, he didn’t give up, either. Immediately after making a full recovery, David was indentured as an apprentice at Local 395, Hammond, Ind., where he has trained tirelessly. “When his job gets rained out, he goes to the apprenticeship school to practice welding and his different skills…that’s the kind of Ironworker he is,” Local 395 business manager Doug Strayer said. Perhaps that’s why, earlier this year, David placed 12th out of 12,000 entrants in the Ironworkers National Apprenticeship Competition in Indianapolis. And this week, David will graduate from Local 395’s apprenticeship program and become a journeyman Ironworker, just like his dad and granddad.

FULL story at link.

About New Hampshire Labor News
The New Hampshire Labor News is a group of NH Workers who believe that we need to protect ourselves against the attacks on workers. We are proud union members who are working to preserve the middle class. The NHLN talks mostly about news and politics from NH. We also talk about national issues that effect working men and women here in the Granite State.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. I'd celebrate peace, not war.

[ExCop-LawStudent]

4. Which has nothing to do with Memorial Day

You do not celebrate war by remembering those who have died in the service of their country.

They didn't choose to start a war.

Many of them didn't choose to join the Army (remember the draft).

I don't know of anyone that considers remembering the dead that would believe that is a celebration.

[noamnety]

2. I'm a veteran

I'm spending it on a small community service project, of sorts. (redemption)

[YarnAddict]

3. We have a Vietnam vet volunteering at our animal shelter

He is a great guy, and a very, very dedicated volunteer. We'd been trying to figure out a way to honor him, when out of the blue, he mentioned to me that he would like to see a flag at the shelter. We decided to get one, and hang a plaque saying that it is in honor of his service.