WHAT VETERANS DAY MEANS TO ME

What Veterans Day means to me

By James Elphick

               This year will mark the thirteenth time I have celebrated Veterans day as a veteran. A great deal has changed since but one thing has remained constant – what Veterans day means to me as a veteran.

               Due to the nature of my deployments I was considered a combat veteran at just 18 years old but I was still in the Army and not officially a veteran in the civilian world. Those first few Veterans Days were important as my friends and I collaboratively established what the day meant to us. It became many things – first and foremost at the time it was a day off from work which was much appreciated – but we all seemed to reach the same conclusions.

               Veterans day was a day to celebrate that we were alive, that we had survived the war up to that point. But it was also a time of contemplation as for many of us there were still deployments looming. That contemplation has continued through the years, especially for me. Every Veterans Day I reflect on the sacrifices of my brothers and sisters in arms and I wonder about the future. I long for a day when we are no longer creating new combat veterans but live in a world of peace and those of us who fought this war can grow old and let the memories fade a little.

               The celebration of being alive to enjoy Veterans Day has also always been tempered by the loss of our comrades. Even though there is a separate holiday in Memorial Day to recognize them it is impossible to truly separate the two. No thought toward my own service can happen without also acknowledging those that we lost.

               Finally, and this one may have been the most difficult, Veterans Day is the time to let the country thank us. Many of us shrug off the obligatory “thank you for your service” that we hear whenever it becomes known that we are a veteran but for many people it is important to say those words. Because for us we are veterans everyday it is important to be able to step back and let the country celebrate its veterans, even if it makes us uncomfortable.   

WHAT DOES VETERANS DAY MEAN TO ME

What does Veterans Day mean to me?

By Carol Beard

               Growing up in a military family you’d think that I would have grown up with a deep appreciation for Veterans Day.  My father is a veteran, several of my uncles are veterans, and several of my older cousins served in the military.  So, it’s a fair guess to say that I should have really understood Veterans Day.  But, I didn’t.

               I started to understand Veterans Day when I was in high school and was learning about the history of it.  How it was originally Armistice Day and ended WWI, how it was a chance to honor those who had served and were still serving; these things I learned in school.  I also learned that I had to march in parades for band all over the region for Veterans Day.

               But, I didn’t begin to understand Veterans Day on a personal level until I had served in the military myself.  During my tenure in the Navy, Veterans Day was a very nice day off most years if I wasn’t out to sea.  However, the day didn’t mean much to me until later on.  That changed when I took the uniform off for the last time and donned the mantle of “veteran” myself.

               While Veterans Day still means time off from work, it now means more to me on a personal level than it did before.  I identify myself as a veteran and take pride in the service I gave to protecting my country.  Veterans Day has become “my day” where I can share my pride of service with others.  It is also the day that I can help others understand that those who serve come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  Veterans Day has become to me a day of reflection on my service time and a chance to thank my brother’s and sister’s in arms for their service as well.

               Veterans Day still involves parades, though I don’t march in them anymore.  It’s still about remembrance and thanks for service rendered to the country by those, like me, who are here to accept the appreciation of a nation.   But, most importantly to me Veterans Day means a celebration of selflessness.  Veterans Day to me means that my sacrifices while I served are acknowledged and appreciated.