Who Do YOU Salute on Veterans Day?
Tomorrow is Veterans Day, our annual day to pay tribute to those that have served in the United States Armed Forces. Of course, we celebrate them all year long - tomorrow just happens to be the official day. And I guess our vets love FREE food - because we shower them with it! Ha!
Do you have anyone specific that you show your appreciation to on Veterans Day?
I lost my dad last year and I didn't know much about his time in the service outside of the limited details he would offer up - and there weren't many over the years. I knew he spent a good deal of time in Vietnam but he wouldn't exactly share much in the way of stories about his experiences. One of my dad's friends told me that he posted news of my dad's passing to a military page on Facebook. I was able to learn of a unit that my dad spent time in and read a few stories from people that remembered him.
I also requested his military file from the VA. It was pretty cool to track his timeline of service and I found out that he became a personal guard at the United States Embassy in Saigon after he finished fighting in Vietnam. Now that I think of it, I've heard stories that he lied to get into the service at age 17 - but I'm not sure if that's a true story or not. I'll have to go back and check some dates. But I do know he was just a young pup when he enlisted. Take a look at that baby face.
I ended up with the flag that was presented to the family at his service, a Bronze Star Medal he had been awarded, and his Presidential Memorial Certificate. The only bummer is that all the times I called him on Veterans Day over the years I didn't really know his whole story. I do know he served, like so many others, so that we could have the freedoms that make our country so great. If you can, be sure to take a moment and show your appreciation to our vets on this Veterans Day.