Veterans Day

Seems Like Halloween was yesterday and All Saints and All Souls days were just last week.  Here we are approaching Veterans Day, November 11.  For the past three years I have been giving the invocation at the annual Veterans Day Ceremony here in Wilton Manors, Florida.  Being a veteran of the Korean War, Army and Father Larry also a veteran of the same War, he being Navy, I can remeber when this Holiday was called Armistice Day.  Armistice Day , was the anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty of Word War 1, 1918.. My father was a prisoner of war in Germany during that war .w
I also remember the ending of World War 11 and as a young , not yet teenager, glad the War was over.  Lo and behold I was called to go into the Army, at Age 19, because we were in another war to save us from Communism in a far away land called Korea.  Most of us young men from the working class neighborhoods were drafted while those who had the money went off to college and never saw battle.  The day after I set foot onto the soil of Japan, destined to go to Korea, the war ended and Korea was left a divided country.
Peace did not last too long because America was now off to Vietnam to fight another war against Communism and the working class men from my neighborhood were sent there and died there.  Father Larry's brother Donald got into a legal scrape and the judge said either prison or go into the Marines.  He chose the Marines and died in Vietnam. Here we are now fighting two other wars, the country is angry about the high cost of taxes and we do not see Peace anyway soon  Jesus forgive us.
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The Veterans of Foreign Wars in my old neighborhood sponsor the St. Patrick's Day Parade and legally ban Gay people from marching.  Imagine Veterans who gave their life for others have their sisters and brothers banne dfrom marching by other Veterans..  Its OK to put yourelf in harms way  and also give up your life but not OK to march in a St. Patricks Day parade and that by your fellow Veterans.

The St. Patricks Day Parade is the reason I left South Boston.  The one time a small group of Gay people marched,, surrounded by a heavy presence of Police, I saw mobs throwing bottles at them, ready to come out as a group off the sidewalks and attack them let alone the hateful name calling. The Police put the small group of marchers into a truck with closed doors for their safety and never again did Gay people, to this day, ever march to honor theirSaint too, St. Patrick   This had become Selma - South Boston and I  could no longer ever remain in a sea of Hate  I will talk again about life here in Wilton Manors.  .