MEMORIAL DAY 2003 The Myth of...The Military Not Being Appreciated As sure as one war follows the next, comes the always certain refrain that "people just don't appreciate what the military does." It is often invoked by those in the services, or by their relatives. And I think it's bunk. First off, I don't know many people who don't appreciate their efforts. And few would trade places with them. We understand that war is hell and that someone's got to do it. And we're thankful that they're getting shot at -- and not us. So I'm not sure where the problem is. Don't we celebrate Memorial Day and Veteran's Day? Doesn't the media slather over the heroic deeds of the grunts? Aren't there enough war memorials around the nation to sink a battleship? Don't vets get medical care for life? Don't we put most of them through school? I'm not trying to be cavalier about this, I just don't understand what else we can do? Besides, with the advent of the all-voluteer arny, this is their chosen profession. If they went into it expecting a specific payback (other than the education) they were sadly misled. And let's be real, no amount of adulation, no parade, no memorial, indeed NOTHING will pay you back for the pain, the loss, the fear, the anger or the hell you went through....