Andy Capp by Reg Smythe for November 11, 2014

Personally, Andy’s team having the winning score in his absence would’ve been a good thing.

This is a bit lengthy, but appropriate to the day. Written by a WWII vet:JUST A COMMON SOLDIER (A SOLDIER DIED TODAY)He was getting old and paunchy, and his hair was falling fast,And he sat around the legion, telling tales of the past.Of the war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.Held a job and raised his family, quietly going his own way,And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today.When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,While thousands note their passing, and proclaim that they were great.Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our landA man who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?A politician’s stipend and the style in which he livesAre sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,Is paid off with a medal and, perhaps, a pension small.It’s so easy to forget them, for it was so long agoThat the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we knowIt was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,Would you want a politician, with his ever-shifting stand?Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defendHis home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s partIs to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise,Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today. A. Lawrence Vaincourt

Lost Dad seven years ago on Veteran’s Day. He really was one of The Greatest Generation.

Happy Veteran’s Day to all who have & are serving. Thank you for your commintment to our freedom!

This might have worked as a Sunday strip, with extra panels (but no wasted ones, for a change!) Andy coulda been going on and on at Jackie about the crushing defeat, angling for a free drink or seven. “I tell yer it was the most dispiriting sight, doesn’t that call fer some spirits?” “In that case it’s a good thing you stayed in HERE instead of playing and having to have SEEN all that!”

Drowning your sorrows, Andy?

xxx

An appropriate video for today’s strip:

Lest we forget.

I remember Bill Mauldin

I am technically a WW2 vet (USMC 1946-1948) but never left Southern California, so I feel like an impostor. My older brother (now deceased) served as a marine aboard ship in the Pacific during combat, but would never talk about his experiences. He was my role model.

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America,” for an amount of “up to and including my life.”