Honor America’s Veterans on Sunday
By: Sommer | November 09, 2007 | Category: Home and Family
Did you know that the U.S. has nearly 24 million war veterans? This Sunday is Veterans Day and it’s time, once again, to honor the men and women who protect our country’s freedom. The first Veterans Day was November 11, 1919 and initially, we called it Armistice Day to honor those who died serving our country in World War I. However, in June 1954, the 83rd Congress passed a law to change the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day in order to honor American veterans of all wars.
My family has quite a few veterans – at least 13 that I can think of – and that’s just going back 2 generations. They’ve served in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and Iraq and Afghanistan. One side of my family has created a beautiful granite memorial on a family plot of land on the Missouri River commemorating the service of all the veterans in our family. They also donated a memorial lectern to the Springfield, SD cemetery in honor of local war veterans and my Great Uncle Peter who was killed at Heartbreak Ridge in the Korean War. The remembrance on the lectern is so true: “For those who fought for it, freedom has a special flavor the protected will never know.” One of my favorite memories with my Grandpa Don was when he and my Grandma came to visit Washington, DC one year for an American Legion convention. We visited the Korean War Memorial together and although he didn’t share a lot about his experience or memories, seeing that memorial moved him to tears. What a sacrifice he must have made if more than 50 years later it can still bring up such strong emotions. After that day I’ve felt so much closer to him.
Remember that the federal government will officially honor veterans on Monday, November 12 and federal offices will be closed that day. Please honor the veterans in your life on Sunday by sending them an e-card or doing something nice to show you remember the sacrifices they made. I can assure you; even a gesture that seems small to you may mean more to that veteran than you’ll ever know.
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I live in a Navy town, and every time I see someone in uniform I feel like I should flag them down and thank them for protecting my family and my country.
We need heroes, today, and here they are. Thank goodness.
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I was at South Bend for the Notre Dame/Navy game last weekend and was so touched by how respectful everyone at Notre Dame was of the service members.
At the pep rally the night before, both coaches and players spoke about the service academies and about the great debt we owe our military. Veterans received two standing ovations.
On Saturday, after a heartbreaking triple overtime loss, the Notre Dame band and team went over and performed the school song out of respect in front of the Navy fans. The whole stadium stayed and sang along, and then clapped for Navy afterward.
The band and team then went over to the other side of the stadium and performed the Notre Dame alma mater in front of their own fans. The crowd stayed and sang that, too. After that everyone filed out in a very orderly fashion.
The Navy kids looked so sharp in their uniforms and were so happy and the Notre Dame folks were congratulating them on a good game.
As an Army brat and the parent of a Notre Dame student (attending my very first football game), I was very impressed. What a class act!
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