To all those who served when I could not...

Thank you.

To those who served in WWII, and are still alive to tell the tales...thank you.

To those who served in Korea, in the first campaign where our military might was held back from winning...I'm so sorry our politicians fucked you over like that.  Thank you for serving anyway.

To those who served in Vietnam, and came home to radical leftist jobless twats spitting on you, calling you nothing more than a deranged psychopath baby-killer...I'm sorry our politicians fucked you over like that.  We should have won that one, too.  I'm sorry our media fucked you over like that--without them, the anti-war cretins wouldn't have had any coverage, and likely would have gone away.  And I'm sorry that the people whose freedom you were fighting so hard to protect were so determined to kick you in the balls for it.  Most of all, I'm sorry that Jane Fonda hasn't been stood against a wall and shot for what she did to those of you who spent time in the POW camps.  Thank you so much for serving so faithfully in the face of such ingratitude. 

(Incidentally, John Kerry--this does not apply to traitors, and you are a traitor to the country you wore the uniform for.  You were a traitor then, and you are still one today.)

To those who have spent the last four decades in foreign countries in peacekeeping missions and unnamed police actions, trying to hold back the tide of savagery and protect the helpless in nations who don't give two shits for their own citizens...thank you.

To those who have spent the last ten years in the sandy hell-hole of barbarism over in the Middle East...I'm sorry that you're being prohibited from protecting yourselves from savages who smile to your face then try to shoot you in the back, much less prosecute this war to a successful conclusion.  I'm sorry the politicians fail to understand that the culture of the enemy precludes a campaign that tries to win over hearts and minds, and requires a definitive show of strength and power to not only punish sneak attacks but to discourage others.  Thank you for serving, for keeping the worst of the jihad in their back yard rather than ours.

To those suffering disability, whether mental or physical, from wounds and trauma sustained in serving our country, you have my deepest and most profound gratitude.  To those who have escaped relatively unscathed, I thank God that you have, and you also have my deepest and most profound gratitude for having served.  

Happy Veteran's Day. 

Update: TinCan Assassin pointed out a group that I completely missed: those who served  and stood ready in peacetime.   As Milton said (more regarding service to God, but I think it's also appropriate here) "They also serve who only stand and waite."  Thank you.