As winter descends upon us and we approach the Marine Corp Birthday (November 10th) and Veterans day (November 11th) it is appropriate to remember the price of Freedom. This year also marks the passing of my closest Uncle and I’m reminded about the many sacrifices that he made throughout his life.
Edward (Uncle Ed) Frazer was born on July 6th, 1946 and passed away in late spring, May 20th, 2019. He served in both the Marine Corp and U.S. Army in Vietnam. He was a decorated warrior that continued to serve his country for over 30 more years in both the Army Reserve and National Guard despite having multiple issues as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange and other combat related injuries. His life on many accounts was really unremarkable, obscured in the anonymity of the neighbor next door. He was not an activist of any sort. He did belong to the VFW and the American Legion but did not participate much with the operations of his posts. Instead he lived a humble life providing for his family, serving his country and was a decent and productive human being. He was my hunting partner, my fishing partner and the Uncle I always made time to go see when I would visit home in Michigan.
To me Uncle Ed is representative of so many veterans that have stoically given so much of themselves to protect the rights of others while asking nothing in return. Uncle Ed came from a different era from today’s soldier. He came from a poor family and was raised respecting the flag and the country. Together, he and his brothers; Uncle Joe, Uncle David, and Uncle John unselfishly took on the burdens of servicing this country in a time of war. They all enlisted voluntarily. Our family was blessed that none were lost in combat, however the lingering results of those engagements lasts to this day in my surviving Uncles and contributed to the ultimate death of my Uncle Ed. Similar to my Uncle Ed, my Uncle Joe made a career out of serving on active duty in the US Army and was deployed multiple times in combat theaters. Also similar to my Uncle Ed he too has lingering wounds that he carries every day. You don’t have to be killed in combat to die as a result of it and you don’t have to be directly involved in combat for it to affect you in a physical or profound way. Some wounds are visible and some are simply not.
None of my Uncles talk about their time in the service much, even to me – a service connected disabled veteran myself. Uncle Ed was no different. I think to them it was just “something they did”. To them it deserved no special accolades, they didn’t do it because they were thirsty for combat, to prove their bravado, to win medals or to get money for college. They did it for truly altruistic reasons – because they love this country and they love our flag. Men like this still exists in our midst but you wouldn’t know most of them as they never brag, they don’t ask for recognition for their service, they don’t ask for handouts and they often look like the neighbor next door.
In some ways Uncle Ed reminds me of the many men and women that I served with, some of whom I still maintain contact with. Ironically, on the occasions that we meet we also seldom talk about our time in boots. There are many cogs in the war-machine, there are many missions and many jobs that have to be done in order to protect our freedom and ensure our way of life. There are many different types of people that fill these roles. I was not combat infantry like my Uncle Ed and believe that role requires a rare breed and especially brave soul. Thank you Uncle Ed for your service and the life-long sacrifices that you made in order to make our country a better a place. Thank you for the lessons that you taught me and the respect that you demonstrated for our country.
Thank you to all Veterans!