By Tabitha Bozeman
On Veteran’s Day, we will celebrate the many citizens who have spent years, and often lifetimes, dedicated to military service for our nation. There have been many veterans in my family, including my great-grandfather, grandfather and my own father who served in the Army for many years. Last year, my daughter wrote about my daddy for her Veterans Day project. It is a special keepsake that I treasure.
This year, she is writing about her other grandfather, her Papa. My father-in-law is a veteran of the Air Force and Air National Guard. Over the course of his service, he collected many medals and honors, as well as many adventures. We have all loved hearing about his experiences, and his granddaughters have been fascinated with his stories. This year, she was unable to share her report on him at school, so she is my guest writer this week. The following is what Olivia Bozeman, age 9, in 4th grade at Southside Elementary School wrote about her Papa, Jimmy Bozeman:
“I am glad to be an American because my Papa Jimbo served in the Air Force for 36 years. He was in the 225th Combat Communications Unit. What you do in his unit is you help the soldiers communicate with their bases. He also served in the Desert Shield Operation in Saudi Arabia. He has been all over the world, going to countries including Italy, Egypt, Denmark and England. My Papa, in 2023, was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. I am so glad he is my Papa, and I am glad he served for our country. Some of the medals and awards he won were the Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.”
I love hearing her pride and enthusiasm about the accomplishments of her family — it makes her feel proud to know and love them, and it encourages her to accomplish things in her own life.
Over the last month, my literature students have studied poetry by one of the first literary activists in American history, Philip Freneau. Freneau was also proud of the veterans who fought for American independence during the American Revolution, and appalled by the way their country thanked them.
In one poem, “The American Soldier”, he writes “’Tis his from dear bought peace no wealth to win… Sold are those arms which once on Britons blaz’d, When, flushed with conquest, to the charge they came; That power repell’d, and Freedom’s fabrick rais’d, She leaves her soldier — famine and a name!”
We discussed how the treatment of veterans is still an issue in our country, hundreds of years later, and what students’ thoughts were on the topic. We asked some hard questions and had a good discussion, coming to the conclusion that there are many possible solutions, but maybe never a perfect one.
As we celebrate and thank our veterans this year, I hope that our country will refuse to stop at just expressing thanks, and that we will continue to learn and improve how we take care of those who have willingly put themselves in danger in service of America.
As Bob Dylan reminds us, “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.”
