February 24, 2002; Miami Beach: On Heroes

Throughout the NFL football season this year, many of the athletes have been saying that their real heroes are the people like firemen, and servicemembers of the US military. That really makes a servicemember feel good – to be remembered, and to be appreciated. I am lucky in my lifetime to be appreciated by the American people for what I do. For decades before that, since the mid-60s, perhaps, and the Viet Nam fiasco, servicemembers were not appreciated by the American people for what they did. Only during the Gulf War, in 1991, did that start to change, and that was about the time that I entered the Navy (1988, at Villanova). Things have really turned around, image-wise, for the military, and it’s great to be a part of it. I’m listening to GEN Norman Schwarzkopf’s autobiography these days, and he didn’t always get to experience that appreciation during his 30+ years in uniform. Only when he returned from Grenada did he receive a welcome for his service, whereas after two tours in Viet Nam he never even had anyone show up at the airport to meet him. Appreciate your freedom. And thank your heroes, whomever they may be.