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By Gary Schutza
On Nov. 11, the country will celebrate Veterans Day, and many will celebrate veterans’ service and call us heroes.
I spent three years in the Marine Corps during the Korean War.
I think most military veterans just want to be recognized and respected for their service to this great country. A lot of the men and women volunteered as I did and served honorably. Many were drafted and also served with honor.
But we are not heroes. The real heroes are those who did not come back to their families.
Some people think that a vet is someone who went to a foreign land and fought in a war. This is not true. It does not matter where their service was performed; in the states or in another country, in peacetime or during in time of war, as long as their service was documented, many defended their country within their country.
Most veterans I have talked to — and there have been many in the last 50 years — are humble people and don't think the government owes them benefits because of their service. We did not calculate the government taking care of us because of the uniform we wore. It was our duty as an American citizen.
Take Harvey Moore of Gainesville, for example.
He said did not want to come home after his tour was over in Korea. He told me that he just felt guilty leaving some of his friends there.
Charles Loftice of Wills Point spent two tours in Vietnam and volunteered to go back a third time. Brian Altus of Richardson joined the Navy in 1988 and “shipped over” for one more year and then 12 years later he joined the National Guard for a year. He told me it was his honor to serve.
On a personal note, I enjoyed my military life and would not change anything.
Sure, some of it was traumatic, but I signed up without any pressure from my parents or friends.
So it’s true that I receive a check from the government every month for my service. I also get free parking at all airports, and my medical services are free. I just lost a little blood and spent four months in a hospital, but those injuries were just a by-product of my duty to my country.
I was wounded on the battlefield, but I certainly was not a hero.
Gary Schutza is an Allen resident and Korean War veteran.MORE INFO
Gary Schutza will speak at the Nov. 11 Veterans Day event at 8:30 p.m. in the Allen Senior Recreation Center, 451 St. Mary Drive.
