Has "respect" been retired?

In the military, we often joke about service-members becoming "lifers" and the effects that will have on them. I suppose it's very similar to the pocket-protector jokes that scientists endure. Somewhere along the way, during my nearly 19 years of service in the Army, I transitioned from "in it for the college money" to "in it for life". The amazing thing is that I never noticed when the switch was flipped.

This weekend, I realized something about myself. I am not merely "old-fashioned". I am just experiencing some of the side effects of being a lifer. Every time I see someone eating dinner in a restaurant with a hat on, I have a strong urge to walk up and take it off for them. When I see people completely oblivious to the playing of the national anthem or the passing of the colors (the US flag), it makes me angry. That is just a small sampling of side effects of being a lifer. On Saturday, I saw someone who is exhibiting much stronger (and more wonderful) side effects than I.

I must begin by explaining that a friend and I went on a whirl-wind tour of the monuments on and around the mall in D.C. This friend of mine is a former Soldier who was stationed with me overseas many years ago. Even though he left the service, he still has the heart of a lifer (sorry, Bobby, for 'outing' you! :o). We were not the typical tourists on the mall that day. The monuments that many people take for granted - or see as nice 'photo ops' - truly mean something to those of us who serve. They are not merely monuments to presidents and wars and history. They are monuments to service and freedom, and we should respect them, and Bobby and I talked about it repeatedly.

Then, we rounded a corner and saw that all of our talk was just that: talk. We rounded the corner by the Vietnam Memorial and saw the epitome of respect. There, intent on his task, was a young Sergeant - in uniform - shining the brass at the base of the flag pole holding the national colors and the POW / MIA flag. Walking closer, we could see that upon the brass were the raised seals of all five services. Tears in my eyes, I walked over to the Soldier and asked him if he was assigned this task (presumably as a punishment, because "old Soldiers" like myself come up with interesting punishments like this sometimes..) or was doing it voluntarily. He never stopped his work, but told me that he had noticed on his first visit that the Marine Corps seal had been shined with great care, but the other seals had not. He decided that day to make it his mission to correct that, and has been coming out to the Mall every Saturday from the base where he is temporarily on duty (attending a course) in order to shine that brass.

When I asked this young Sergeant how long he had been in, he said 9 years, which means he was probably somewhere between 26 and 29 years old. Even at such a young age, though, he understood something about respect. Not only has he headed out to the Mall every Saturday, when many of his buddies are probably out having fun, or maybe going home for the weekend, but he has done it in his uniform, so that all who see him will know he is a Soldier, and proud to be one. He already is a lifer, that's for sure. (And he has my utmost respect, as well as my thanks for reminding me that sometimes showing your respect involves a little elbow grease and sweat...)