On the Eve of Veterans Day

 

As you know, tomorrow is Veterans Day. If you are a regular reader you also know that Christy’s husband is active duty military. Today we want to take a moment to remember and to thank all our Veterans. Christy wrote a post entitled Reflections on Memorial Day , if you haven’t read it I hope you will. I know I am grateful for her family’s continual sacrifice as well as the commitment and bravery of her husband and all our service men and women in continuing to protect our freedom.

A few weeks ago I accompanied my daughter on what I expected to be a standard field trip to Washington DC. I grew up a few minutes outside the city, and while we live a little further away now, we’ve made plenty of these treks to see the monuments and sights. While I don’t ever take living so close to this powerful city for granted, this trip was unexpectedly memorable.

 

After visiting the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean Memorial on our walking tour, we arrived at the World War II Memorial just as this group of World War II Veterans were being wheeled up to the fountains.

 

 

Most were in wheelchairs, I believe they were visiting from a Veterans’ hospital in Maryland. They were accompanied by volunteers and nurses. You can see the gentleman above was moved to tears just to be there, his nurse leaning over to comfort him.

 

The men were emotional but also very proud. The children flocked around them, above you can see my daughter approaching this gentleman to say “Thank You” for his service.  I remember that one of the Veterans was 100 years old.  You could see how moved they were to just be there; someone said softly as we watched them, “They must have just been boys” during the War.

I am not sure how many of that group will get another chance to visit the Memorial, but I hope they do.  I am just so grateful we were there to say “Thank You” to them for what they did.

Our time to say thank you to this generation for their service is fleeting. My Grandfather {above} was 18 when the war started and he enlisted. He is gone now but I am struck by how young he looks in this picture.

In our more recent conflict, I am proud to say that my husband has three brothers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Marine Corps. This video is a little long but for you mothers of sons, or for the teen and pre-teen sons themselves, I think you’ll find this interview inspiring. My amazing mother-in-law instilled in her boys throughout their childhood that faith, family and freedom are worth fighting for.

You can view what inspired the three of them to serve our Country HERE.

 

 

To all of you who serve, have served or support those who serve, we thank you.

 

XO,