Semper Fi, Uncle, and Thanks

What does, “Support Our Troops,” mean? 

How exactly do I go about supporting our troops? Is it as simple as saying, Thank you, to everyone in uniform I see?

For me saying that is just a meaningless token; a throwaway expression to be repeated on occasion, like asking, How are you? I remember reading about a firefighter who was at the Twin Towers on 9/11. He stopped telling people what he did for a living because he just did not want to hear thank you one more time or talk about it anymore. I wonder, is that how our veterans feel?

Perhaps I could place a magnet shaped like a ribbon on my car that says, Support Our Troops. I will not do that either. That seems like another meaningless gesture, destined to fade into nothingness. I know the sentiment has its roots in the Vietnam War and how we mistreated and shunned our returning troops. We do not want to repeat that mistake.

Still, just how do I, or any of us, go about showing or giving support in a way that has meaning? What exactly does it require?

I have been pondering this ever since I had lunch with my dad’s brother last Saturday. My dad is the youngest of 10 and Uncle C is the next up in line. They are the only ones left in that generation of their family so I try to stay in touch with Uncle C, especially now that I live in Los Angeles.

To understand what follows, you have to understand Uncle C. A Mexican-American man who grew up on the mean streets of Los Angeles, he faced prejudice head on. By hard work and talent he rose from being a ditch digger to far up the ranks in a local utility company. He does not hold back on what he believes and even at his age, 82, will fight (and I mean fist fight) anyone who disrespects him. He will not back down.

Above all, he is a Marine. A Korean War veteran, Uncle C’s life still bears the mark of the Corps. His home is shipshape, his person is shipshape, and even though he is afraid it is not, his mind is shipshape.

Saturday found us at a late lunch, then riding in the car while Uncle C drove around doing errands in his town. It’s a lovely town and he was showing me some houses he had owned through the years. At one house he told me about Bubba, a black Labrador dog he had owned who had escaped from the yard. As he looked for Bubba, he spotted the dog catcher, who, sadly, had found Bubba in the street, a victim of an encounter with a car. Bubba was now in the back of the dog catcher’s van in a black plastic garbage bag. Would Uncle C like to see the dog? Yes, Uncle C said, he would.

Question:  How do you scare a combat-hardened veteran?

When he was in Korea, it was Uncle C’s job to sneak into enemy territory and tell the artillery where to direct their strikes. Uncle C left out many details—this is war, after all, not a fit subject for a woman or any civilian, for that matter—he just told us the basics of his job. On this particular day, he came back to camp from duty and saw several black body bags lined up, not an unusual sight. This time, though, the captain told him that among those in the bags was a particular person Uncle C knew. Would Uncle C like to see the body? Yes, Uncle C said, he would. Turns out it was his best friend.

Answer:  Here is how you scare a combat-hardened veteran.

So there on the street Uncle C stood with the dog catcher and the black plastic bag. Uncle C said when the dog catcher opened the bag it was not the dog’s body he saw, but the body of his dead friend from the Korean War. Uncle C said he started shaking and could barely get home. While he told me the story, he began sobbing and shaking.

Then he was in control again and we continued on his errands as though nothing had happened. It is strange how an emotional, life-changing event like that can be sandwiched into the ordinary events of any ordinary day.

Until then I had only ever thought of “Support Our Troops” as a slogan that has lost its meaning through overuse and glibness. Now I know what it really means.

It is not easy listening to war stories. They are filled with the pain of the most terrible deaths and losses, pain that easily lasts these veterans a lifetime. Sometimes that pain needs to find expression and be received and carried for a moment by another person. For me, and I say this with great humility, it is a gift that just once, just for that moment, I helped carry his pain. I supported my troops.

Except, of course, for this:  I will carry that day with me for the rest of my life.

Uncle Claudio, I say this with the greatest respect:  Thanks. For everything.

Wassail

The recipe's donor, KC, and I became friends in a backhanded sort of way. I worked with her husband, Jack, at our local newspaper when I was a reporter and he a photographer, actually the head of the photographic department. One year I was having a party on Christmas Eve and I invited Jack and his wife. We were sitting around talking, and eating, and doing other party stuff when my dad said to me, You have a full house. It did not seem crowded to me but there were a number of people there. No, he said, like in poker, you have among your guests three Karens and two Alices—a full house. 

KC, my Full House friend, I raise a glass to you.

Card ingredients:

1 blue sheet of cardstock, cut to these sizes:  6- by 6-inches square, ⅝-inches by 5-inches

1 sheet of vellum

1 sheet decorative Christmas paper that matches the cardstock, cut to 5½-inches square

6 ½-inch brads, three snowflakes and three pine trees. You could also use six ½ -inch cutouts

Secure the decorative paper to the 6-inch square cardstock. Print the recipe on the vellum. I used Goudy or Gothic font (Sorry; I cannot remember which) and printed the ingredients in size 11, the instructions in size 12, and the title is size 14. After you print, give the vellum time to dry before handling it; the ink will smear if it is still wet. When it is dry, cut the vellum to 3½-inches by 4¾-inches. Secure the vellum to the Christmas paper but put the adhesive on the vellum where you will lay down the blue paper strip. This way the adhesive will be covered and not show through.

You can see how the card is laid out from the picture; this is an easy one.

Wassail Ingredients

4 cups apple juice

4 cups cranberry juice

2 large cinnamon sticks, broken

A few whole allspice

A few whole cloves (you can also put the cloves in a small orange and toss into the drink)

Mix and heat in a crockpot.

KC’s note:  This recipe can be doubled or better yet, spiked with rum.