I cry for those who paid the ultimate price with their lives, I rejoice for those who come back unharmed, and I pray for those who are in harm's way, and those who have been injured.
I didn't see any action during my tour, but was close enough to appreciate those who did.
The Cuban Crisis occured while I was in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg. We were all packed up and ready to go. I spent some time lying on a parachute packing table while we were assembled and waiting to go. It was a time to think of how it might be, a time to pray, and a time to make peace. It's a brief period before the battle that warriors use to gird themselves for battle. We were fortunate that we were not sent in. Unknown to us, there were tactical nucleur weapons there waiting to be used against American troops. We were lucky, we were all lucky.