Veteran??

Not in any way am i discriminating against countries or what-so-ever.

I just find the stories interesting.... :)

> Subject: Freedom Fries?
>
> When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell
> was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for
> Iraq were just an example of empire building' by George
> Bush.
>
> He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United
> States has sent many of its fine young men and women into
> great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The
> only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is
> enough to bury those that did not return.
>
> You could have heard a pin drop.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Then there was a conference in France where a number of
> international engineers were taking part, including French
> and American. During a break, one of the French engineers
> came back into the room saying, 'Have you heard the
> latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft
> carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does
> he intended to do, bomb them?'
>
> A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our
> carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat
> several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can
> supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they
> have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people
> three me meals a day, they can produce several thousand
> gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they
> carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting
> victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have
> 11 such ships; how many does France have? '
>
> You could have heard a pin drop.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that
> included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian,
> Australian and French Navies.
>
> At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a
> large group of officers that included personnel from most of
> those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as
> they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly
> complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many
> languages, Americans learn only English.' He then
> asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English
> in these conferences rather than speaking French?'
>
> Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe
> it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans
> arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'
>
> You could have heard a pin drop.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
>
> A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to
> France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of
> 83, arrived in Paris by plane.
>
> At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his
> passport in his carry on.
>
> 'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the
> customs officer asked sarcastically.
>
> Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
>
> 'Then you should know enough to have your passport
> ready.'
>
> The American said, 'The last time I was here, I
> didn't have to show it.'
>
> 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your
> passports on arrival in France !'
>
> The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look.
> Then he quietly explained. 'Well, when I came ashore at
> Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this
> country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it
> to.'
>
> You could have heard a pin drop
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> What Is A Veteran?
>
> A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged,
> retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his
> life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United
> States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and
> including his life.'
>
> That is honor, and there are way too many people in this
> country today, who no longer understand that fact.