TO MANY AMERICANS, VETERANS DAY means flags, parades, patriotic speeches, and occasionally a long weekend.
asserted
DAY → mean → flags
I didn’t really understand what military service meant before I put on the uniform—what it demanded, or how profoundly it could shape lives.
uncertain
it → understand → lives
That understanding came gradually, over decades of service, three wars, assignments around the world, and encounters with extraordinary Americans.
asserted
understanding → come → Americans
And my appreciation for Veterans Day has only continued to deepen.
asserted
appreciation → continue → Day
Unlike Memorial Day, which is dedicated especially to those who died in military service, Veterans Day recognizes all who answered the nation’s call, in war and peace, in combat and in peacetime.
asserted
who → dedicate → peacetime
I understood those distinctions intellectually as a young officer, but the years and the people I’ve served with have deepened my appreciation of the holiday and the men and women it honors.
asserted
it → understand → holiday
In peacetime, I witnessed the discipline, sacrifice, and professionalism required to maintain a military prepared for war.
asserted
I → witness → war
In combat, I saw courage, fear, extraordinary leadership, and heartbreaking loss.
asserted
I → see → courage
As a senior commander, I came to appreciate the enormous responsibility our nation places on those who serve and those who lead them, and since retirement, I’ve increasingly recognized that the greatest lessons of military service often have little to do with military operations.
asserted
lessons → come → operations
Three stories help explain what I mean.
asserted
I → help → what
MOST PEOPLE REMEMBER JIMMY STEWART for his remarkable performances in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Philadelphia Story, and It’s a Wonderful Life.
asserted
It → remember → Washington
No matter how many times I’ve watched it, I am always moved by the way George Bailey, an ordinary man, places the needs of others above his own ambitions.
asserted
Bailey → watch → ambitions
It captures what I believe is best about America.
asserted
I → capture → America
Stewart embodied many of those same qualities.
asserted
Stewart → embody → qualities
Already a successful actor when America entered World War II, Stewart didn’t consider himself entitled to different treatment.
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himself → enter → treatment
He wanted to serve his country, so he joined the Army Air Corps and eventually flew B-24 bombers on dangerous missions over Europe.
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he → want → Europe
He completed twenty combat missions, commanded other airmen, earned decorations for courage and leadership, and retired as a brigadier general.
asserted
He → complete → general
What makes Stewart’s story compelling isn’t just that a famous actor became a decorated military officer.
asserted
actor → make → ?
It’s that he approached service with humility, accepting the same obligations and dangers as thousands of other Americans.
asserted
he → ’ → Americans
His celebrity offered no protection from flak, enemy fighters, the fear of losing friends, or the responsibility of leading others into combat.
asserted
celebrity → offer → combat
I’ve often thought that America could use a whole lot more of that humble, ordinary-man approach today, particularly among those who seek positions of influence and authority.
uncertain
who → think → influence
We seem increasingly drawn to people who insist on their own exceptionalism, demand recognition, or confuse public service with personal importance.
asserted
who → seem → importance
Stewart’s example reminds us that genuine greatness often comes from people who don’t spend much time proclaiming how great they are.
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they → remind → time
MY SECOND STORY CONCERNS A YOUNG SOLDIER with little in common with Jimmy Stewart except that military service offered him an opportunity to become something greater than he had imagined.
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he → concern → something
Oropeza was serving in a Stryker platoon in northern Iraq in 2007.
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Oropeza → serve → 2007
A Mexican-American and the son of immigrants, he had grown up in difficult circumstances in Los Angeles before finding a different path through military service.
asserted
he → grow → service
The Army offered him a chance to escape the life he knew and build a new one.
asserted
he → offer → one
Oropeza wasn’t initially regarded as an exceptional soldier.
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Oropeza → regard → soldier
His leaders told me how they sometimes struggled with him, and he occasionally needed correction and discipline.
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he → tell → correction
He was quiet, somewhat reserved, and hadn’t demonstrated the leadership qualities his sergeants hoped to see.
asserted
sergeants → demonstrate → qualities
Then came an ambush.
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ambush → come → ?
During a particularly violent engagement in northern Iraq, three of his platoon’s four Stryker vehicles were struck by roadside bombs and enemy fire.
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three → strike → bombs
Several members of his unit, including key leaders, suffered devastating wounds.
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members → include → wounds
The platoon was in danger of being overwhelmed and needed someone to take charge.
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platoon → overwhelm → charge
In that moment, Oropeza became the soldier his comrades desperately needed.
asserted
comrades → become → moment
He exposed himself repeatedly to enemy fire, helped retrieve wounded soldiers, administered first aid, fought off attackers, redistributed ammunition and supplies, and rallied those still capable of fighting.
asserted
He → expose → those
Two sergeants later told me they survived because of his actions.
asserted
they → tell → actions
They spoke in hushed tones about the courage and initiative of a young man they had previously struggled to teach and train.
asserted
they → speak → man
We recommended Oropeza for the Medal of Honor, but he was instead awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, our nation’s second-highest decoration for valor.
asserted
he → recommend → valor
His actions, more than the ribbon on his chest, showed something profound about the potential within people whose beginnings may not suggest their eventual contributions.
uncertain
beginnings → show → contributions
…and 54 more, not listed.
The Aporia
