CRESTVIEW — Victor Everett graduated from Crestview High School in 2000 and went into the Navy the following year. As a corpsman, he served five years during the Iraq conflict’s peak.
Serving in the line of fire, Everett was wounded while rescuing Marines in his platoon during an insurgent attack. For his gallantry, he received the Navy Commendation with Valor.
When the nation pauses Monday to remember its fallen military members, it’ll be a day like most others for Everett.
“For many people, it’s a ‘celebration,’ the start of summer, though it’s not supposed to be a celebration,” he said. “It’s a day to stop and remember those who died for them.
“… The weird thing is when you first come back, these holidays, like Memorial Day, you don’t want to forget the people you served with who died, but it’s hard to reflect on those awful memories.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is that when you come back from combat, when you first come home, people do talk about it. But no matter what you say, people don’t understand what it was like so you stop talking about it.
“So for us, you take the time out on Memorial Day, you take the time out on Veterans Day and you take the time out on the day they died. You take time out every day.
“It’s more than just one day for people who’ve been through what we’ve been through. It’s every day.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: For Crestview High alumnus and Iraq War vet, every day is Memorial Day