Rick
I appreciate it when a man "Cowboys Up". Shows character.
The point I was trying to make is that it isn't right to make light of war, especially when your own ass is not on the line. Unfortunately, warfare is one of the things humanity does well, soldiers only being among the first to die.
During our combat mission in Afghanistan, the Canadian Army lost 137 men and one woman, a Captain FOO (Forward Observation Officer) who was highly regarded for her calm voice and steadiness when calling in fire missions.
Since then, another known 136 are known to have attempted or successfully committed suicide, victims of PTSD. Some were vets of earlier missions in Uganda and Sarajevo, serial deployments. That's a lot of families affected in a nation with a small population.
When you consider the manpower of the US Forces by comparison and their staggering losses incurred in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is definitely not a laughing matter.
If a cop is killed in the line of duty, thousands of cops show up for the funeral. "A boy comes home draped in the Maple Leaf" (or Stars & Stripes) and it barely makes the news. It was left to the grateful public to respectfully line the roadways and overpasses with banners and flags to welcome them home along "The Highway of Heroes".
Sorry to have gone off on a tangent with this, but I wore the uniform for 12 years and it cuts me to the bone when I see how are vets are cast aside, the wounded and those whose wounds do not show.
The best to you and yours this coming Christmas!