Thank you, veterans
Inspiring journalism
Regarding “This Veterans Day, think of enlisted men and women,” (B1, Nov. 11): I salute the Houston Chronicle and writer Chris Tomlinson. The article has inspired me to think about our current enlisted men and women while reminiscing about my experience 50-plus years ago.
I was drafted in 1969. My military experience was in the U.S. Army, in the infantry as a grunt and in Vietnam. After my tour I used my veterans’ benefits to finish college, buy a home and acquire property in the Texas Hill Country. I married, had children and worked at a company for 35 years.
I encourage employers to consider this article when they are hiring employees. Many unemployed veterans are struggling to find meaningful work. Veterans who have served our country can be valuable assets who are self-motivated, hardworking and loyal.
My thanks to Tomlinson for his inspiring journalism. I now have another way of thinking about Veterans Day.
Tim Whipple, Spring I read Chris Tomlinson’s commentaries, but this is the first time that he really got my attention, enough for me to write a letter. It’s been far too long for the enlisted men and women to go unrecognized. You ask any second lieutenant and any ensign who taught them “the ropes” in the service, it was some enlisted person.
Like Tomlinson, I was an enlisted man in the Navy, came out, went to college and had a very difficult time finding a job with four years of Navy experience only. My time in the Navy did not help me in 1960, after graduating from college. As a matter of fact the only job I could find, with a wife and a little boy, was working a jackhammer for $3.50 per hour and I took it. One does a lot of thinking when they are doing manual labor after becoming a college graduate.
I moved on in life with various jobs and business ownerships, but the discipline I got as a young teen in the Navy carried through my entire life. A person doesn’t go from a jackhammer job to an IBM salesman without discipline and perseverance.
Thank you for taking the time, especially on Veterans Day, to let people know how valuable the enlisted military is to our work force and thank the person who used the military service to serve this great country and make a better life for them and their families.
David White, Nassau Bay As we near Thanksgiving Day, we’d love to hear from you about what specific reasons for gratitude are on your mind this year. Please submit a letter to the editor by midnight, Nov. 20. It should be 200 words or less, avoid politics (sorry), and be as specific as possible about who or what you’re grateful for and why. Use our form, available at houstonchronicle.com/opinion/submit, or write to viewpoints@chron.com with the subject line Thanksgiving 2020. We’ll publish the results on Thanksgiving Day. — The editors