Thanks Brian,

I did write a few paragraphs about Veterans' day. I may post if there is a swell of popular demand.

Today, my heart is especially on the 12 active duty and 1 retiree who were murdered at Fort Hood last week.

Fred, I do hope that Frieda is continuing to do well! Thank you for your service and that of your children. We are all in your debt!

Thanks, Fred and Brian - this day is important to remember.

I never served (for those confused, an "Army Brat" is a kid who grows up on military installations while the parent serves), but I do hold high regard for those who did and do.

My father never talked much about his time in Vietnam or Korea - among the very few topics he didn't discuss. We did talk a lot about his feelings on the war and the national politicians behind it, but not about the details.

To keep the cycle going, my 22-year old nephew/godson, Matt, enlisted last year and deployed to Iraq for his first tour last week.

So how did I mark today? Thoughts and prayers - of my father, while looking at the photo of him scowling at Westmoreland while being presented the Silver Star; and of Matt, looking at a photo of him at his sister's high school graduation in June. And of all the men and women who have served and are serving.

Thanks, Fred.

Hey Moxie et al.

Frieda is doing just fine. She encouraged me to post my writing for Veterans' Day so I will.

Service to the country? We have a few in the family. My grandfather, my father, my mother, myself, my older son, my younger daughter and all my uncles and 5 of my brothers.

Veterans’ Day 2009

When Johnny comes marching home again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay,
When Johnny comes marching home.

(Civil War Song)

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, The Great War came to an end in a railroad car in Rethondes, France. Our doughboys came home to the cheers and shouts throughout the land. On September 2, 1945, The Second World War ended on the deck of a battleship in Tokyo Bay. Our GIs and Sailors came home to ticker tape parades and grand marches in cities great and small. On July 27, 1953, an armistice stopped the fighting in the Korean Peninsula. You would have to look very hard to find out how our troops came home this time. On April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War concluded with the surrender of Saigon. Our servicemen had slinked home well before then feeling the shame and disgrace heaped upon them.

June 1991, our troops from the First Gulf War are feted by massive parades in New York City, Washington D.C. and other location. Continuing on today are departure and welcoming ceremonies for our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We have many opinions and viewpoints on current wars and the use of the military around the world. That is not today’s topic. The topic is today is Veterans’ Day, the day to honor all veterans.

Time to recall the cherished memories of a grandfather or granduncle who served in WWII and simply said “I was just doing what I was told to do.”

Time to honor the Korean War veteran, if you can find one.

Time to honor the Vietnam veteran, some easily spotted with their “Vietnam Veteran” ball cap covering their balding head. Others you will not find because they hide their service in their hearts.

Time to honor our newest veterans. You see them everyday when you are in an airport. Their uniforms neatly worn but with faces that have seen too much for their young ages.

Time to tell to your children, no matter what your political persuasion, that service to the country is always honorable.

As for this Vietnam veteran, today, I will hold closely in my heart my thirteen brothers in arms from Fort Hood.

This is one of those days where I give my friend Dan a call. He became my best friend soon after HS, joined the army, served in Desert Storm, and a few months after receiving an honorable discharge, came down with Gulf War syndrom. He's not able to work, but he can hang in there on a conversation, barely, sometimes.

My wife plans on doing a little baking for a guy we call Gramps, who loves pies, lives 2 dors down, and occasionally rides his mower over to our front yard to cut our lawn when he gets bored. He was an American soldier who spent time in England during WWII.

Happy Veteran's Day to all you military families out there.

And of course, Fred, we want to hear more from you about this day specially marked for honoring vets.

Here's a good video to check out today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWwB9NwDpq0

The backstory is that today is called Remembrance Day in many British Commonwealth countries, and it's taken much more seriously than is Veterans' Day in the US (possibly because they don't also have a "Memorial Day" but I'm not sure).

At any rate, when a Canadian soldier is killed - say in Afghanistan - the body is flown to CFB Trenton, in central Ontario, and then driven to the Ontario Coroner's Office in downtown Toronto. That involves a 170 kilometer stretch of Highway 401, which is roughly the equivalent of I-95 in the US. An impromptu tradition started whereby people came and lined each one of the 59 overpasses along the route in tribute to the soldiers and their families. It has built to an extent that that stretch of the highway has been renamed the "Highway of Heroes" and a convoy from Trenton to Toronto is something that has to be seen to be understood. It's really an incredible scene. That video is a tribute to the phenomenon, and it's pretty appropriate for today.

Thank you to all those that have served, and are currently serving this great country.

We have a long list of veterans in both my husband and my family. It made me sad this morning when my daughter asked why Veterans Day was not important enough to close school. I told her that was a good question, but that we'd share some rememberance this evening as a family.

When I was very little I was at the beach with my parents and grandparents, and my mother got to talking to a lady from New Zealand on the beach, who was there with her elderly father. It came up that my grandfather had been a naval captain during WWII, and when she heard this she insisted that her father needed to meet my grandfather, who had gone for a walk down the beach. When he came back, this old man shook my grandfather's hand and said, "You're one of those boys who saved New Zealand!" and then he cried. This was back when it was really unusual to see a man cry, and it left an impression. Our military defended a lot of terrified people then.

Beautiful story floof.

We were sitting next to an elderly gentleman who fought with the 29th infantry during WWII at IHOP a couple years ago. He was chatting with another gentleman at another table that was a Vietnam Vet and we were "in the middle" - so we could hear the conversation. It came up that the WWII vet had not visited the WWII memorial in DC, said he was not ready. Before he paid his bill he went to the restroom and 3 tables tried to pay for him meal (us included), the Vietnam Vet won out. When the elderly gentleman came back to his table and was told by the waitress (who had a son in Iraq) that the bill had been paid, he smoothed his jacket down, wiped his face, whispered thank you and walked out to his car.

I was bawling for an hour.

Thank you to everyone who has served and to those who remember.

Thank you to all who have served, and those who do.
My neighbors went in uniform to the elementary school yesterday. Mostly to the Kindergarten class, so not a lot of heavy content, but it's a good reminder that there are military folks among us, since it's not much of a presence in town.

Thank you to all veterans and those currently serving in our Armed Forces for protecting our country and our freedom. Your sacrifices are not forgotten.

I don't have family members in the military but my Dad knew 3 people who were killed in Vietnam. One time when he came to visit me we went to the Vietnam War Memorial and he found their names.

Perhaps it would be appropriate to watch 'Saving Private Ryan' today. If you haven't seen it, it is a powerful film about WWII that shows storming the beaches at Normandy.

Thank you, Fred. That was powerful and very touching.

Thanks to all of you who have served or are serving. Your defense of our great nation is a gift beyond measure and you all too often do not receive the thanks you so richly deserve.

My family, like many here, has a history of service going back as far as the Civil War (either side) up through the present. My parents were part of the Greatest Generation, my generation was in Vietnam, and those who came after have been in the Middle East for longer than we could have imagined. We can never say "Thank You" enough.

Lynne

Late to the party.

DH and I are both veterans. We met in the Air Force (served in the 80's under Reagan, so we had much easier enlistments than those who serve in war-time), and we spent yesterday just relaxing and enjoying a quiet day together. Didn't get on computers. Didn't do much/any housework or anything else.

My husband is an Iraq Veteran. He and his two brothers served in 2004-2005. They are likely going back next year. They often speak at schools on Veteran's Day and have a fabulous video and speaking presentation. My mother in law teaches at a middle school and asked the administration if they would like them to come do an assembly. They declined. How sad is that?

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