Some of you have heard bits and pieces of this story, some have not. Either way, I figure it’s about time to get it down once and for all.

Before I get into it though, I feel the need to express my disgust with the fickle American public and the disregard that I am seeing for the 4th of July and what it means. It’s not just another day off. It’s not a day to celebrate beer and BBQ.  It should be a day of reflection and celebration for the people and events that have created a culture that allows you to enjoy a cold beer and a slab of beef on a warm summer day.

But maybe I’m just oversensitive… And here’s why:

In September of 2001, the USS Enterprise was making her slow way home to bring to an end her six-month long deployment in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf. See, what many people don’t realize is that the Navy is the only branch of the service that regularly deploys for extended periods of time even during peacetime. We were looking forward to going home. After months of pre-deployment workups and then our actual deployment, many of us had spent upwards of a full year away from home.

September 11th changed that. We were turned around and sent back to the Arabian Sea where we patrolled until combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, after which we performed air strikes day and night for a number of weeks. After a number of days, including a beer day, at sea, we were finally relieved and allowed to go home.

There were many difficulties surrounding our deployment after 9/11. Most people were despondent over the fact that we were not home with our loved ones during this time of crisis. Other were upset that we weren’t able to protect our country from the attacks even though we were the ones deployed in defense of the country. times were hard. However, one thing that made things better was the massive amount of mail we were receiving from people back home - many of which were complete strangers - who simply wanted to write and tell us how much they supported us and how much they appreciated what we were doing for them.

We came home to a massive fanfare. After all, we were the first unit to return home after combat operations began after 9/11. We came home as heroes. Thousands of people lined the pier just to watch our arrival. People who weren’t even involved with family or friends showed up to show their support or to teach their children a bit of patriotism. Just check out the comment left on my 9/11 story page. She came with her kids just to see us and show her children.

We couldn’t have been more proud to have done what we had done. For as rough a time as it was, coming home to a pier full of screaming people waving flags and banners made things all that much more worthwhile.

I took leave and went back home to Minnesota in December, and was greeted as a hero there as well. I was met by family and the local newspaper who wanted to talk to me as I was the first deployed Minnesotan to come home after 9/11. They treated me like royalty.

Everywhere I went while on leave, I was treated  like a hero. All I had to do was show up at a store and I would have complete strangers come up to me in tears and hug me or shake my hand and thank me. People would walk up to me and introduce their children to me who wanted to shake the hand of a real sailor who just came back from a war. I had people offer to buy my lunches and dinners just to say “thank you” for serving. People expressed their gratitude to me for being out there while they were back home enjoying their lives.  It was a grand time to be in the military.

Now fast forward 3 years and on to today…

I got out of the military in 2004 and came back to a changed country. When I would wear my cruise jacket - the same jacket I wore while home in 2001 - I would be more likely to get scorned than thanked. In fact, since I returned, I have not had a sing;e stranger approach me and thank me. It’s a pretty stark disparity from what I had received just 3 years prior. While I still maintain a high sense of pride for my service, I know other vets who hide (or at least downplay) their military service so as to avoid dirty looks or ill feelings from other people. It’s revolting.

It baffles me how quickly people forget. 2001 changed everything we knew yet people forget that. They are letting their own personal agendas or lives get in the way of history. They are more concerned with global warming than global terror.

People forget that while they struggled to deal with 9/11, people like me were out on the front lines working day and night to ensure that they could sleep peacefully each night. While they sat around at Starbucks sipping their latte and eating at McDonalds, we were drinking desalinated water that tasted like jet fuel and eating powdered eggs.

Americans forget that their freedom isn’t free. It never has been. Since 1776, people like me have been out there to ensure that people have the right and the freedom to drink their Starbucks or grill their hot dogs. Even during peacetime, we were still out there ensuring that their peace and freedom were kept secure.

These days a soldier has to die before the American public thinks of somebody making a sacrifice. Yet, have they forgotten what sacrifice means? What about those of us who gave up families and friends to make deployments in the name of freedom? What about those of us who spent our time eating powdered food and processed water while living half-way around the globe away from our loved ones? What about the soldiers who are out there right now, living in the desert heat?

These are all sacrifices that are made by those of us who volunteered years of our lives for our country. These are the things to remember on the 4th of July. These are the people to celebrate on your day off of work. Enjoy your dogs and beers and fireworks. Enjoy your freedom. Enjoy your right to do these things without ever having to worry about them being taken from you.

But take the time to remember - and thank - those people who went out of their way and sacrificed some portion of their lives for you.