We Need to Celebrate Veterans Day Every Day

Illustration by Dana Binfet

We need to celebrate Veterans Day, not only on one day, but every day.

This story is about why we should celebrate Veterans Day every day. I’m writing this paper because a survey came out that says 22 veterans commit suicide every day.

I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corp. and on Aug. 4, 2019 I had surgery on my knee. On Aug. 26, the first day of school, all hell broke loose.

I was admitted into the emergency section of the Veteran’s Administration (VA) hospital, and that same day I had emergency surgery due to a Staphylococcus infection. I stayed in the hospital for two weeks and on the second week I told my doctor I needed to go because I was having thoughts of suicide. And at that time my doctor said, “What do you mean?”

I said, “I cannot stay in this hospital. I need to get back in school.”

He said to me, “If you have to do this, you won’t have to do certain things to be discharged.”

And I did some things and I got discharged. I had to wear a peripherally-inserted central catheter (PICC) line in my arm with antibiotics for a whole month. That time was the start of my recovery process. My first day out I was in a wheelchair, then I went to a walker, and then went to crutches. All that time, I had to go up and down 16 steps to get to my apartment, every day.

One of the main reasons I wanted to write the story is because veterans get misused and abused in the hospital and I had to get out. But I am real grateful that I had a place to go and that was back to school. Man, that first day of school was real hard, but I am real grateful that I had the determination to get there. If it wasn’t for the school, I probably would’ve lost my life. Graduating from SMC by the spring of 2020 is one of the most important things I want to do.

But, one morning I was in severe pain all night. I had a real hard experience that night, and I was ready to give up. Then I got a call from my friend, Lisa, and the one thing she said to me was, "You are not a quitter."

Lisa didn't know at that time I was thinking about suicide and that she saved my life.

Man, it took three to four hours to get ready for school, but I got through it. I remember getting to school that day after talking to Lisa and her telling me the five little words: "You are not a quitter." And one of the ladies at the SMC Disability Center office said to me, "Look me in eyes, Clyde. You know you can quit." She meant I could end the semester early, and it wouldn't hurt my GPA. I looked her back in her eyes and said, "You know I’m not a quitter."

Both of them ladies, Lisa and the lady in the DPS office, were the turning point in my life and I really need to tell both of them thank you for saving my life. That is one of the reasons why I wanted to write a story is that sometimes kind words can make all the difference in the world. Even when I got to school, even the people in my class, they just don’t know when I said, “How are you doing today,” was all the difference that made me a better person and made me want to live and I need to tell all of them, “Thank you.”

If you see a veteran just say some kind words, you might be saving a life.