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It didn't hit me until recently how our country has truly changed since the early part of this
century. "Ask not what your country can do for you...ask what you can do for your country" was
a strong proclamation in those days. To serve in the Armed Services was considered a thing of
pride; many families went several generations with their sons serving in the Army, or the Navy,
or the Marines, fighting numerous wars both at home and abroad. Today, many disdain such jobs
and don't support those who do go overseas and fight for freedom. Our President is a self-
proclaimed draft dodger; and while I can't say I blame him (many died in the Vietnam war, I
suppose he wanted to live) it's sad to look back on how such soldiers were treated when the
Vietnam War first ended. Even today, many grumble about why should we send our people overseas
to protect those who are under tyranny, not giving full thought that the self-same tyranny could
someday spill over onto our own shores. We've lost our patriotic spirit, and I don't know if we
can possibly get it back.
Let me tell you what brought on this sudden surge of Patriotism. Last September I signed up to
"adopt" a serviceman who has been lost in one of the many wars fought in this century. Jerry
Michael "Mad Dog" Shriver, a Green Beret, was lost somewhere in either Cambodia or Laos on April
24, 1969. I've made a page in memory of him, which you can find here.
The Adopt an MIA/POW can be found at OJC.org. At
the very least look at it. It got me all-fired up about this subject and I usually don't
get fired up by anything.