Everyone has a story to tell.  For some, these stories and experiences delve in complexity, with all the captivation of a never-ending roller coaster ride.  With all the magnificent peaks and troughs, they may simply leave your friend’s mediocre stories in the dust: with listeners left unfulfilled and longing for more.  Welcome to the wonderful, and all-embracing world in which military personnel live in everyday.

From unpredictable tides bombarding the sides of your ship, to the volatile and erratic environmental atmosphere of a combat zone, there is no doubt that most individuals who have had military experience, and live to tell of it, have stories that are much more diverse than most can imagine.  These stories are ones that may simply be very difficult for an everyday civilian to understand, let alone comprehend.  The span of generations, while safeguarding military tradition, has also served to preserve these sacred stories with utmost care.  From young to old, it certainly takes a special person to be in the military, and the resultant product can be seen in all those people, and material objects, that they choose to surround themselves with.

Everything from their sacred flight jacket, to their elaborate military home décor, anyone that tells you that material objects don’t embrace a certain symbolism, in which is carried from one generation to the next, is sadly mistaken.  The well-known ‘conversation piece’ hasn’t endured for decades, for no reason.  Just like military tradition, it is those proud veterans for which the traditional ‘conversation piece’ has so much meaning, and can be the perfect introduction to a wonderful night of entertainment for guests that you may be sharing your stories with. 

While some veterans may understandably ‘bottle-up’ their war stories, behind a justified veil of secrecy, other military experiences have been known to elicit warm and fuzzy feelings of happiness, and memory, that they may even want to openly share.  Embedded in a lasting military art print, coupled with military home décor, even something as simple as a ship could very well trigger intense emotion regarding ‘the good old days’: where friends ventured into military service together and partook in a feast of lifelong brotherhood amongst the freedom of the open seas.  For others, this ‘ship’ may be a 4-wheeled vehicle, or perhaps even a fighter jet.

With new wars, new stories of heroism, bravery, and life, have emerged for future generations to embrace.  At the cost of the blood of free men, as a society, we must never forget the stories, and the ‘conversation pieces’ that hold such an invaluable place in, not only our country’s history, but also in each one of our lives.  Without free men who are willing to do battle on behalf of the collective, and their great stories, our country would simply not be as great as it is today.  From their ragged, sewn on combat patches, nestled nicely amongst other patches on their motorcycle club jacket, to the elaborate pictures of military art and design, we must never forget the greatest centerpiece of all: the flag that has endured for centuries.