As We Honor Our Veterans Today We Still Have Every Right To Be Cautious And Concerned

"When I think of Veterans Day, I think of my late father, Army Major Vester Brooks Smith, and his service in World War II and the Korean War. He made sacrifices to leave his family putting his life at risk. By the grace of God, he made it home alive. If he hadn't, me and my two other brothers wouldn't have been born because we were born after his time in Korean. Also, I think of his time and service he gave to our country while he was enlisted in the Army and the local National Guard in Memphis where I grew up. Although he was not killed in war, he paid the ultimate price by obtaining the dreaded Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (PTSD). However, he was a high functioning member of society and went on to get his college degree from Memphis State University and had a very successful career in

accounting and bookkeeping. And as I think of us as American citizens, we pay the ultimate sacrifice too by honoring our veterans and America everyday, working hard and paying our taxes. We were born here legally and because of our heritage of our family member's sacrifice in the military, we have the right to be proud and to be concerned for our country, our homes, our jobs, our community and our families. We have right to be concerned for our way of life, our peace and our freedom from threats and of acts of violence against our citizens and our nation from terrorists such as Muslims extremists and other such terrorists. We have a right to be cautious and leery of these Syrians Muslim refugees that Obama and his administration are bringing into Bowling Green and other small towns across the nation. We work hard, pay our taxes and are law abiding citizens and we have every right to be concerned and on guard. And we do not seek handouts. We pay our own way and apparently the way for others who are not even citizens who have not even made any sacrifices nor have their family members. Nevertheless Happy Veterans Day!"-Galen A. Smith Sr.