I just wanted to thank all of you, as well as the entire country for helping me to celebrate a day dedicated to a guy you've never met and I suspect never heard of until know. Oh I know the formal name is Veteran's Day, but since February of 1967, for me its been "Johnny Junkins" Day. Now, I don't want to give a false impression. Johnny and I were not friends - no, far from it. I was a year behind him in high school, I knew him, even hung out at his house a couple of times, but we were not friends. I was terrified of him! We were all terrified of him! He was the meanest, toughest "you know what" in our entire school which to the teenage mind meant he was the meanest, toughest "you know what" in the entire world. He had failed a couple of grades and he seemed like a grown up man to all of us except this grown up man would beat you half to death if you gave him the slightest provocation or sometimes just because it was Tuesday. Even the teachers would cross to the other side of the hall. In gym class they used to let us, or make us, box. The standing rule made by the principal was that anyone who boxed Johnny had to not only wear headgear but also a catchers mask. They went through 3 catchers masks my junior year. After graduating in 1966 with an overall average of exactly 70, exactly (what are the odds - talk about your no kid left behind), Johnny joined the Army and volunteered for Viet Nam. When I heard that I rode my bike to my best friend Mike's house who just happened to live next door to the Junkins. We laughed and joked about how with Johnny over there it would be a slaughter. How could anyone stand up against the power and rage of a Junkins let loose - not to mention armed with an M-16. When school began the next September Johnny was a local legend, bigger than life, bad to the bone, indestructible - a 19 year old superman in green that would knock you're name out of the phonebook. When that day came in February, I remember it was still cold and really windy. They couldn't open the casket. They just put his senior picture on top with a bronze star draped over it. I can't listen to the politicians a lot on "Johnny Junkins" Day - not either side of the aisle. I'm sure they mean well, but it seems like both sides try to take credit for what Johnny did and use this sacred day to further their on private agendas. Maybe I'm too sensitive but it seems Johnny deserves more than a day off for the Post Office and the banks being closed - and they never once mention Johnny - at least not the one I knew, or the one you knew, or your Dad, or your brother, or your Uncle, or your Grandfather - and it makes me sad because they will all forever be heroes to me - the unknown Johnny's, both men and women, who have either risked or laid down their lives throughout the entire history of this nation, including today, so that you and I might sleep safely at night. They're all heroes to me and I thank God for them. So, happy Johnny Junkins day. You can sleep well tonight - the Johnny's are still on the job - and they're all heroes to me.