Selective Reflections
Engaging articles and photographs reflect by writer’s wide-ranging experiences with charities, culture, media, politics, relationships, religion, sports, travel, and veteran affairs.
Fred J. Rosenthal
Writer & President of The Rosenthal Group, LLC
His career spans over six decades and includes a journalism degree, a veteran of 35 years of military service, freelance writing and photography, entrepreneurial projects in advertising and marketing, sports, travel, and charity activities. Married for 55 years with two sons and four grandchildren, he won two political elections and now shares his experiences, Christian values, and beliefs in Selective Reflections.
Every day, hundreds of military veterans are dying, leaving behind untold stories!
The Cost of a Lost Veteran
Recently, I experienced the loss of my 101-year-old father-in-law, a former tail gunner on B-29s during World War II. Having been married to his daughter for nearly 54 years, I found it challenging to persuade him to recount his wartime experiences. Our conversations about his service in the Army Air Corps totaled less than fifteen minutes, as he preferred not to revisit that period. I presumed his role as a tail gunner involved shooting down German aircraft and potentially causing the deaths of pilots. None of his six children served in the military, and when he passed away, his family lost those untold memories.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, likely due to exposure to Agent Orange while stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. While undergoing radiation therapy at the VA clinic, I had the opportunity to exchange “war stories” with fellow veterans, revealing each veteran’s unique narratives regarding their military experiences. After completing my treatments, I engaged more extensively with veterans about their wartime experiences, noting that many are willing to discuss their military service privately with other veterans but are hesitant to share such experiences publicly or record them for wider audiences.
It became evident that numerous veterans are open to sharing their stories with fellow veterans but remain reluctant to speak publicly about their experiences. We all have stories, myself included, and I intend to share mine later. The purpose of this article is to encourage readers to seek out, listen to, and learn from veterans and, if feasible, document their stories. There is much to learn from veterans regarding the strategies of wars and the reasons we should strive to avoid them.
History tends to repeat itself, and today, we are witnessing the creation of similar wartime scenarios that Vietnam veterans faced. During that era, there was a draft, leading to the deaths of many drafted soldiers—over 50,000 military personnel killed in Vietnam. I enlisted in the Air Force as an aircraft control and warning operator and never anticipated exposure to Agent Orange. Presently, thousands of veterans are homeless or struggling with addiction because they trained to kill their enemies without understanding the underlying reasons.
The VA is facing financial strain due to the cost of caring for veterans who require medical, physical, and emotional support. The solution lies in learning from the past. If we fail to listen to our veterans and preserve their stories before they pass away, we will have failed them and our nation.