James 4: 14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.”

If there is any single people group that must be appreciated by all Americans, it would be our veterans. They have gone, many voluntarily, into battle to win and keep our freedoms.

Many have died in horrible pain while others have survived and endured pain beyond the imagination of most of us.

Beyond the death and pain are those that brought the war home with them. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is very real. Combat veterans suffer the horrors of war long after the surrenders or treaties are signed.

During holidays in which fireworks have become popular, the bombs/fireworks bring back those horrors. The minds of many veterans relive their experiences many times over.

The suicide rate of war veterans now is estimated at twenty-two per day in America. The constantly reoccurring visions and sounds are more than some can bear. How many more have to die?

A chemical agent (defoliant) used in Vietnam to kill the jungle vegetation where the enemies were hidden, has been linked to cancers in thousands of war veterans.

Death rates from a chemical agent (so named for the orange stripe on the storage barrels) are difficult to determine but some believe the numbers are in the thousands. While certainty may not exist for numbers of deaths, the chemical has been credited for long term health problems and increased mortality.

One information source claims as many as 300,000 American servicemen may have died after exposure. That is over five times the number killed in combat. If this is even close to accurate, we see the actual numbers of deaths from Vietnam may be much greater than the combat deaths of 58,000. How many more have to die?

Vietnamese officials claim over 400,000 citizens died because of exposure to chemical agents used during the war.

Several friends and high school graduates from my class have died from varying forms of cancer and other illnesses at young ages. Several of them believed their sickness was caused by a chemical agent used in Vietnam. How many more have to die?

How many have come home with missing arms or legs. Can a Purple Heart replace a leg? There is nothing that can replace one’s life or limb.

Some say “they knew what might happen.” That’s the point! But they went despite the possibilities because they love their families, their God and their love for America.

Jesus Christ, we are told in John 1: 1 was literally God, come to earth in the form of a man for the purpose to die. He intentionally sacrificed Himself for the sin of all mankind and Biblically referenced we have eternal salvation by our simple faith-based belief in Him.

To go willingly and sacrificially, knowing one may never see their families ever again is a special love that many could never understand. Yet Jesus and the American serviceman did (and continue to do) exactly that.

The word “hero” has been so misused in the recent past it is unconscionable. A mentally ill person that thinks he’s a truck is mentally ill; not a hero. The veteran that put his life on the line for his country is the real hero.

We rode with the Patriot Guard standing flag lines at the Bushnell (Florida) National Cemetery. My respect for veterans and active military greatly increased during those missions. Veterans are to be honored, not disrespected. Anyone disrespecting a veteran is un-American and unappreciative to the fullest.

The maniac that kills children in a school shooting is mentally ill. The terrorist that rams a vehicle through a crowd is a coward and brainwashed. Our world is sick and our military men and women are our front line of defense.

The armed citizen is a second line of defense against all enemies. The misinformed blame guns with mass killings and terrorism but the indoctrinated and foolish are to be pitied.

John 15: 13 “Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends.” The only ones to lay their lives on the line for us are the American servicemen and women and our Jesus.

Jesus went to the cross as a willing blood sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. We are all sinners in the eyes of God (Romans 3: 23). We need redemption.

In the eleventh chapter of Genesis we find the people building a tower to Heaven. They were trying to reach God on their own effort. They apparently had a commonality with many in our world today.

The Bible teaches without doubt that the only eternal salvation for mankind is through Jesus Christ. Those making attempts on their own to reach God are wasting their time. If we could earn our own salvation, Jesus wasted His own time and blood by going to the cross.

The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive into Heaven (Acts 1: 9).