To our veterans and their families, thanks for your sacrifices
OPINION - We as veterans are a strong and resilient community, but there is no doubt that we need our brothers and sisters to help us integrate back into the fold...
Since America’s founding, African-Americans have played an instrumental and vital role in the security of this country, answering the call of military service time and again to defend its shores.
Indeed, our African-American veterans have held field, staff and leadership positions at all levels, from enlisted service members and junior grade officers to the most senior generals and admirals. For instance, four star General Lloyd Austin III, an African-American and West Point graduate, recently became the commanding general of Central Command.
In fact, General Austin was the last commanding general of the United States Forces in Iraq.
Much is discussed about bridging the divide between our civilian and military communities, especially during the wake of 12 years of war where less than 1 percent of the US population has served in uniform. Yet, our African American community has been integral in helping both service members who need their support to accomplish their mission and Veterans making the transition back to civilian life.
As a case in point, I want to share a story that underscores how our African-American community pulls together to support our service members, veterans and military families. When I was a toddler back in the late 50’s, my father, an Army officer of 27 years and a veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, received orders for a new assignment to Frankfurt, Germany. He had to immediately report for duty and flew from Fort Lee, Virginia to Germany, leaving behind my mother, my sister and me to join him three months later. My mother had only traveled outside of Virginia once in her life, and found herself faced with the task of preparing and executing travel to a far away land with two babies.
As my grandfather, a former train porter and boiler man, dropped us off at the train station, he pulled aside an African-American porter on the train and enjoined him to look after his youngest daughter in her quest to travel to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. It was still the days of segregation, and that porter was instrumental in getting my mother fed on the train and then insuring she got off at the right stop with two babies in her arms and eight oversized suitcases. As a result, my mother made the manifest at McGuire, for the first time leaving America’s shores to join her husband overseas.
I share that story for two reasons. First, if it had not been for that porter my mother would not have been able to reach her destination on time and certainly would have missed her flight to join my father. This is not an uncommon story. Our community, with its rich tapestry of honorable citizens who overcame slavery and segregation, fortified in resilience and perseverance, has repeatedly joined hands to help others overcome their trials and tribulations.
Second, on a more personal note, I am sure that experiencing this kind of support throughout my life as a military child had something to do with my decision to go to West Point and spend 26 years in the military, alongside my brother who went ROTC and spent six years in the Air Force. I saw that same support network when I was privileged to serve as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, traveling to installations and communities around the country and abroad, and seeing the broader support of our parents, spouses, friends, and children for our Service members who weathered multiple deployments and sacrificed their lives fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We continue to need this support for those service members who will now transition to expand the rolls of our veterans and their families. We as veterans are a strong and resilient community, but there is no doubt that we need our brothers and sisters to help us integrate back into the fold. It is important that the kind of care and assistance offered my mother during her first journey overseas be provided to our veterans and their families as they make their way home to our communities across America.
On this day I salute our nation’s veterans and their families in making the sacrifice to defend this nation, and I am both appreciative and grateful for those in our communities – individuals, groups, and organizations – who reach out to insure that our military community is welcomed home with love, care and open arms.
Robert L. Gordon III is a former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy. He spent 26 years in the Army and comes from a tradition of military and civilian service.
