OPINION:
Years ago, when my sons were both in elementary school, they knew my brother-in-law Paul as a kindhearted and patient uncle, one who made them tasty pancakes while their mother — his wife’s younger sister — was in the hospital for cancer treatment.
They grew to appreciate Paul’s aptitude for teaching the sorts of things children need to learn. First, there was what they liked to call the “Uncle Paul school” for how to tie shoes, then how to ride a bike and even, a couple of summers ago, how to drive a golf cart.
As they grew older, my sons realized Uncle Paul had a job, or more precisely, a calling: He is a Marine Corps Scout Sniper whose assignments in the service to his country have included a deployment to Iraq during the Battle of Fallujah.
This past spring, my sons had the honor of pinning on Uncle Paul’s promotion to first sergeant. They are now profoundly aware of their uncle’s exemplary record of service. My younger son, who often spends his mornings before school watching military history videos or reconstructing famous battles like D-Day, is thinking about a career in the military.
Paul now serves his country in the reserves and, in a few years, will join the exalted ranks of Marine Corps veterans. With Veterans Day upon us, it’s a fitting time to recall how those who served have helped to influence all of us, from the tying of shoes to the shaping of characters.
The first veteran in my family was my grandfather, who was also the first person on my father’s side of the family to be born in the United States.
His father was a photographer, and although his family did not have much money, my grandfather studied hard in public school and then served in the Navy during World War I. His brother served in the Army and deployed to the front, where he was exposed to German chemical weapons. He died in his early 40s.
My grandfather went on to college and law school and founded his own family law practice. Proficient in Italian and French, he provided legal services to many immigrants in the Boston metropolitan area.
My grandfather died more than a decade before I joined the CIA. But his legacy had a significant impact on my own decision to serve.
Although members of my family served in the military with distinction in World War II and Korea, I came to believe that my family had still not repaid the significant debt we owed in return for the extraordinary opportunities afforded us in this country. And having witnessed my grandfather’s continued interest in world affairs throughout his life, I wanted to immerse myself in national security.
Growing out of that tradition of service and patriotism, I wanted to do my part to take the fight to the Soviet evil empire. There might not have been a hot war between our countries, but there was enough cloak-and-dagger espionage to pique my interest in pursuing a CIA career.
And just as previous generations confronted their challenges, we face a multitude of complex threats from adversaries such as China, Iran, Russia and North Korea, and from more amorphous dangers such as transnational terrorism and the proliferation of the world’s most destructive weapons.
And that’s why we rely on our military — the strongest, best-trained, best-equipped and best-led force in the world — to protect us and deter our enemies. Our men and women in uniform routinely put service to country ahead of their own safety. They deploy to some of the most dangerous locations on the planet, while their families back home worry about them. And when they are stationed in the U.S., they work exceptionally long hours in highly stressful jobs.
But that is where they want to be, standing on the front line holding off all who seek to do us harm.
For all that they did to protect our nation while in uniform, we should also be thankful to our veterans for mentoring and inspiring the young people who will follow in their footsteps. And if there is one thing my family has learned, it’s that there are no better role models for future generations than the veterans who sacrificed so much on our behalf.
• Daniel N. Hoffman is a retired clandestine services officer and former chief of station with the Central Intelligence Agency. His combined 30 years of government service included high-level overseas and domestic positions at the CIA. He has been a Fox News contributor since May 2018. Follow him on X @DanielHoffmanDC.
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