We must do more for our veterans because they do so much for us!!

From NYT:

Even in Times Square, where little seems unusual, the Nissan Pathfinder parked just off Broadway on the south side of 45th Street — engine running, hazard lights flashing, driver nowhere to be found — looked suspicious to the sidewalk vendors who regularly work this area.

And it was the keen eyes of at least two of them — both disabled Vietnam War veterans who say they are accustomed to alerting local police officers to pickpockets and hustlers — that helped tip off the authorities to the Pathfinder, illegally and unusually parked next to their merchandise of inexpensive handbags and $2.99 “I Love NY” T-shirts.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, the vendors — Lance Orton and Duane Jackson, who both served during the Vietnam War and now rely on special sidewalk vending privileges for disabled veterans — told nearby officers about the Pathfinder, which had begun filling with smoke and then emitted sparks and popping sounds. (more...)

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From BnB:

Imagine this: you're in Times Square on a Saturday night getting your T-shirt hustle on. You see a Nissan Pathfinder with smoke coming out the windows. What do you do?
Well, if you are Vietnam vet Lance Orton, you flag down a cop and say, "Something ain't right." (Okay, I paraphrased). The mounted officer detected the smell of gunpowder and Times Square was evacuated. Investigators removed three propane tanks, consumer-grade fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Whoever put it together was NOT PLAYING. Let's face it, that could've serious jacked up some stuff.

Mr. Orton finds himself a reluctant hero, he wants no publicity: (From NY Times)

"I'm not going to say nothing, I'm not going to say nothing," he said when first approached by a gaggle of reporters. As he walked down the street, employees from Junior's restaurant stood outside applauding him. He briefly entered the restaurant before heading toward 44th Street.

He walked with a limp, had a cane, wore a white fedora and had a hoop earring in his right ear. When asked if he was proud of his actions, he said: "Of course, man. I'm a veteran. What do you think?"

The vendor said that he had served during the Vietnam War and had been selling wares on the street for about 20 years.

"I don't have too much of a choice, nobody's giving me a job," he said.

He said that he was reluctant to speak with members of the media because they had twisted his words when they interviewed him in recent years.

He got into the back seat of the taxi, took off his hat and used it to fan his face.

Before he left, he was asked what he had to say to New Yorkers.

"See something, say something," he said.

There's a deeper lesson here if anyone is looking for it. Dude serves his country, comes home and has to sell T-shirts on the street to make a living. Without even hesitating, he serves his country again. Amen, Mr. Orton. Hey Bloomberg, cut the brother a check... seriously. He's earned a little "thank you" from the City of New York.