He is not the guy who would go to an American Legion meeting (was a member at one time just because they worked for vets) because since he didn’t go overseas he felt his service was different. But who served when his nation called…
As an Army veteran, people have been thanking me all morning. I feel like I should be the one thanking my country on Veterans’ Day. My country gave me a free college education, a great Army job where I learned invalueable leadership skills, a break on my first mortgage, and even introduced me to some lifelong friends in return for a few years of my time. Pretty good deal for me. Thank you, America.
both my father and father in law were WWII vets, Army and Navy, Europe and the Pacific, Battle of the Bulge and Iwo Jima. family histories also include the Civil War and the Revolutionary War. we put the flag up in memory of all of our relatives, all those who serve our country, and mindful of those not in the military who have helped the cause for the United States of America.
If you want to know what Veterans’ Day is, read the book “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of “Seabiscuit”. It’s the unbelievable story of Louis Zamperini, a hero like no other.
Trust me on this. You won’t be able to put the book down…
Since the founding of the Marine Corps on November 10, 1775, this country has been protected by a professional military, whse members have risked and laid down their lives to protect the very freedoms and safety we all enjoy.
We cannot express enough gratitude to these brave men and women. Thank you.
It was Armistice Day on the day I was born,celebrating the end of World War 1.
Later it was changed to Veteran’s Day.
I never had to go to School on my
birthday.When I think of all the men
and women who died for us, it makes me
proud to be an American.God Bless the U.S.A.
Veterans Day makes me thankful that I’m American. Our soldiers commit themselves to protecting our freedom, and they do this voluntarily. Many know that they could see combat, and that they might not come home. For those fortunate enough to not see combat, they will spend large chunks of their lives alone, and without family. They will forge friendships with people from all over the country from many different backgrounds. They will spend many holidays with these new friends. Often times, these new friends become like family, and our soldiers will sacrifice their own lives to defend those of their fellow soldiers.
When our servicemen and women return to civilian life, they often struggle with the transition. We need to understand all that they have done for us and we need to do all we can for them. It is a small price to pay to have these committed you g me and women defending us.
Help a veteran today and every day, and God bless America!
My Dad enlisted in the Navy with parental permission at age 16 for WWII. When he was only 17 he was on the island of Guam thousands of miles from home because he thought it was the right thing to do. I’m really proud to call him my Dad!
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:34 am:
It means thanks to my dad (just turned 90) who fixed P-47s in WWII in Europe and received the Croix de Guerre from the French government for his service. It is about being American–my dad’s great-great-grandfather was a veteran of Maryland Volunteers in the Mexican-American War, and the veterans of today are still making sacrifices to this day.
Pritzker Military Library - This Chicago entity provides more than 200 podcasts of interviews with Medal of Honor winners and other military experts. Do yourself a Veterans Day favor and download just one podcast.
It’s an incredible resource and celebration of the sacrifice of our veterans.
- Cook County Commoner - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:45 am:
Veterans Day is the most hopeful remembrance day on our calendar. When I see the many people who take time out to show gratitude for the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform, I believe things will be alright for all of us.
I am deeply thankful to all veterans who have served us during the times that unselfish sacrifice has kept us as a saved, stronger, and free nation.
To all their family members who day to day undergo sleepless nights of worries and concerns.
Please, let us never rest until they all come home.
No matter how many times is ever said.
I will say it again,
THANK YOU!
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:51 am:
I hope my crazy brother returns safely from Afghanistan. He just volunteered to extend his stay for five months.
My great-grandfather’s service in WWI, and my grandfathers both in Korea, all three of whom I was lucky enough to know growing up.
But I also think of what happened off the battlefield. For Chicagoans there is this to be proud of:
“…after Pearl Harbor, it became impossible for anyone to escape the impact of World War II. By D-Day in 1944, the average Chicago block had given seven residents to the military. Those who remained at home attended massive rallies and bought heroic amounts of bonds, endured food rationing, and grew victory gardens. The neighborhood was the building block of these home front activities that almost immediately enveloped every family. Twenty thousand elected block captains held ceremonies for those departing for the military and erected small shrines for those who did not return. Neighbors joined to hold civilian defense drills as well as drives to collect scrap metal, paper, rubber, and grease for conversion into nitroglycerine…
…Over 1,400 [Chicago] companies produced everything from field rations to parachutes to torpedoes, while new aircraft plants employed 100,000 in the construction of engines, aluminum sheeting, bombsights, and other components. The Douglas-Chicago plant on the site of present-day O’Hare Field turned out 654 C-54 Skymaster transports in 25 months. Just over half of all military electronics used in the war came from 60 local plants. Although Chicagoans frequently worked double shifts to aid the effort, such production levels created labor shortages that brought the physically disabled, the elderly, and tens of thousands of women into the workplace. War jobs also attracted 60,000 African Americans from the South and an equal number of Japanese Americans who were released from desert detention camps.”
Imagine every neighborhood, every block, every Chicagoan working together for the common good. Now try to imagine that in every community in America.
My dad and uncle were in the Army in WWII and my father-in-law was in the Taiwan Straits in the mid 50s during the Mao-Chiang standoff. I had friends in ROTC in college and now I have friends who served in the first Gulf War and other friends who lost loved ones in the last decade of war.
Our country needs them and they answer the call. We’d be in much worse shape without them. It’s good that their service is not taken for granted or derided as much anymore.
- downhereforyears - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 12:10 pm:
I have 2 thoughts: 1. I’m very thankful to all who have served and made life better for my family and me, 2. I’m embarassed that a country who depends on our military so much seems to forget them when they get home. We owe them so much!
I contemplate the cognitive dissonance that those of us who grew up during Viet Nam have had to overcome in our perception toward the military and how hard it has been for military to recognize the need to break out of its box and become a part of American society. And how we all need to work harder to recognize each other. Having had students who were vets and were still serving was the best thing that ever happened to me in breaking my ill-founded misconceptions and emotional hang-overs. God Bless Us All because we are all together…just not as much as we should be.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 12:43 pm:
Thank you all who have served and serve in the military, and for your selfless service. I think of you today and think that a strong military is so necessary. It is because of you that we are secure and can live without fear.
I asked my dad if his father took him out for ice cream when he was a kid, and he said I was nuts. Bombs and bullets were falling on him and his family in Nazi-occupied Greece. Then there was a civil war, which also impacted my family. I believe that no matter where people stand politically, a strong military is indispensable.
My father was in the Navy during WW II and his brother was in the Marines at the same time. The only children of my paternal grandparents. I have everything my father brought back except his uniform, which when my parents sold their last home they thought no one would want (I about threw up). I have many relatives that are veterans.
I have many friends now that have served the country, many during Viet Nam, the Gulf War and in the recent wars. There are not enough thanks to give for what they sacrificed. This country can not give them enough, yet many are ignored and forgotten, and it saddens me. No veteran should be on the streets, or live in poverty. We, as a country, owe them so much more than any Vets hospital or home could ever provide.
My father was born on Memorial Day. I celebrate him every year on that day and today. I cherish his memory and the strength he showed his family over the years.
I continue to be a Legion Auxiliary member for him. God bless our vets.
This year I’m sad. I’ve made it a ritual of calling my Grandfather every year on Veterans day to thank him for his service.
He served with distinction in the Navy, earning several awards and commendations.
He passed on January 1, 2011. He is missed.
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 2:26 pm:
From the latest CMOH Recipient’s ceremony: “Mr. Obama also portrayed Mr. Meyer as conscientious to an almost painstaking degree. When the White House tried to arrange a call to inform Mr. Meyer — who was promoted to sergeant but left active duty for construction work in his home state, Kentucky — that he would be receiving the medal, Mr. Obama said, Mr. Meyer hesitated to get on the phone with the president because he was at work. The call was rescheduled for Mr. Meyer’s lunch break, Mr. Obama said.”
For me it is a rememberance of all those who left family and home to go to a place they did not choose, to learn how to do what they never thought they would have to do, and did it. I think of those men who did what had to be done, did it and in some cases were never thanked or shown appreciation for the job done. My Dad had two distinguished flying crosses and five bronze stars for valor awarded him. He never told us anything about them except, ‘I just did what I had to do.
That’s what a veteran is. He is a hero, and a patriot. We exist as a country because of them, their valor, dedication to our country, and the need of the time.
Veteran’s Day is a very special day. It is my birthday and my wedding anniversary. 11.11.11 also only comes around once a century.
Because I was born at 11 a.m. on 11/11 and being the first grandson of a World War I veteran. The day was always something bigger than myself. My dad and his two brothers all served in the Army after WWII, and my son is a Capt. in the US Air Force today. I understand the committment and sacrifice each has made.
We all need to pause, reflect and take measure of the great gifts given to us by our veterans.
My wish for the day is, that we could all work together, like our vets all did in wartime, and
join together to solve our national, state and local problems. If we all worked like it was not just my own survival, but the guy or gal on my left or my right, we might find solutions to so many problems plaguing us today.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:29 am:
And, please, no politicking or political bickering.
- Wensicia - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:36 am:
To me, it means we can never fully pay back the incredible courage and sacrifices made for us by our military and their families. Thank all of you!
- OneMan - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:38 am:
It makes me think of my dad, who got drafted, went in and fixed aircraft, got out and then a year later got called back in and went.
Not the guy who would go to an American Legion meeting (was a member at one time just because they worked for vets) but who did what is country asked.
Also those who step up today voluntarily so I came of age in a time where there was no draft.
- OneMan - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:39 am:
Sorry that should be
He is not the guy who would go to an American Legion meeting (was a member at one time just because they worked for vets) because since he didn’t go overseas he felt his service was different. But who served when his nation called…
- walkinfool - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:41 am:
We all can and should sacrifice for our country.
As a returning veteran, the best greeting I got was: “I’m glad you’re here with us”. Me too.
- Boone Logan Square - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:44 am:
Gratitude to the Vietnam vet who made it possible for me to be here, as well as to his father who died over Germany in 1944.
- Rob - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:44 am:
As an Army veteran, people have been thanking me all morning. I feel like I should be the one thanking my country on Veterans’ Day. My country gave me a free college education, a great Army job where I learned invalueable leadership skills, a break on my first mortgage, and even introduced me to some lifelong friends in return for a few years of my time. Pretty good deal for me. Thank you, America.
- amalia - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:48 am:
both my father and father in law were WWII vets, Army and Navy, Europe and the Pacific, Battle of the Bulge and Iwo Jima. family histories also include the Civil War and the Revolutionary War. we put the flag up in memory of all of our relatives, all those who serve our country, and mindful of those not in the military who have helped the cause for the United States of America.
- Knome Sane - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 10:55 am:
If you want to know what Veterans’ Day is, read the book “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of “Seabiscuit”. It’s the unbelievable story of Louis Zamperini, a hero like no other.
Trust me on this. You won’t be able to put the book down…
- Cincinnatus - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:02 am:
Since the founding of the Marine Corps on November 10, 1775, this country has been protected by a professional military, whse members have risked and laid down their lives to protect the very freedoms and safety we all enjoy.
We cannot express enough gratitude to these brave men and women. Thank you.
- mokenavince - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:03 am:
It was Armistice Day on the day I was born,celebrating the end of World War 1.
Later it was changed to Veteran’s Day.
I never had to go to School on my
birthday.When I think of all the men
and women who died for us, it makes me
proud to be an American.God Bless the U.S.A.
- mokenavince - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:13 am:
Great book review by Knome Sane.The book was great.
- Anon - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:14 am:
Veterans Day makes me thankful that I’m American. Our soldiers commit themselves to protecting our freedom, and they do this voluntarily. Many know that they could see combat, and that they might not come home. For those fortunate enough to not see combat, they will spend large chunks of their lives alone, and without family. They will forge friendships with people from all over the country from many different backgrounds. They will spend many holidays with these new friends. Often times, these new friends become like family, and our soldiers will sacrifice their own lives to defend those of their fellow soldiers.
When our servicemen and women return to civilian life, they often struggle with the transition. We need to understand all that they have done for us and we need to do all we can for them. It is a small price to pay to have these committed you g me and women defending us.
Help a veteran today and every day, and God bless America!
- One of the 35 - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:30 am:
My Dad enlisted in the Navy with parental permission at age 16 for WWII. When he was only 17 he was on the island of Guam thousands of miles from home because he thought it was the right thing to do. I’m really proud to call him my Dad!
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:34 am:
It means thanks to my dad (just turned 90) who fixed P-47s in WWII in Europe and received the Croix de Guerre from the French government for his service. It is about being American–my dad’s great-great-grandfather was a veteran of Maryland Volunteers in the Mexican-American War, and the veterans of today are still making sacrifices to this day.
- Downstate - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:35 am:
Pritzker Military Library - This Chicago entity provides more than 200 podcasts of interviews with Medal of Honor winners and other military experts. Do yourself a Veterans Day favor and download just one podcast.
It’s an incredible resource and celebration of the sacrifice of our veterans.
- Cook County Commoner - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:45 am:
Veterans Day is the most hopeful remembrance day on our calendar. When I see the many people who take time out to show gratitude for the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform, I believe things will be alright for all of us.
- Thankful - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:46 am:
I am deeply thankful to all veterans who have served us during the times that unselfish sacrifice has kept us as a saved, stronger, and free nation.
To all their family members who day to day undergo sleepless nights of worries and concerns.
Please, let us never rest until they all come home.
No matter how many times is ever said.
I will say it again,
THANK YOU!
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:51 am:
I hope my crazy brother returns safely from Afghanistan. He just volunteered to extend his stay for five months.
My great-grandfather’s service in WWI, and my grandfathers both in Korea, all three of whom I was lucky enough to know growing up.
But I also think of what happened off the battlefield. For Chicagoans there is this to be proud of:
“…after Pearl Harbor, it became impossible for anyone to escape the impact of World War II. By D-Day in 1944, the average Chicago block had given seven residents to the military. Those who remained at home attended massive rallies and bought heroic amounts of bonds, endured food rationing, and grew victory gardens. The neighborhood was the building block of these home front activities that almost immediately enveloped every family. Twenty thousand elected block captains held ceremonies for those departing for the military and erected small shrines for those who did not return. Neighbors joined to hold civilian defense drills as well as drives to collect scrap metal, paper, rubber, and grease for conversion into nitroglycerine…
…Over 1,400 [Chicago] companies produced everything from field rations to parachutes to torpedoes, while new aircraft plants employed 100,000 in the construction of engines, aluminum sheeting, bombsights, and other components. The Douglas-Chicago plant on the site of present-day O’Hare Field turned out 654 C-54 Skymaster transports in 25 months. Just over half of all military electronics used in the war came from 60 local plants. Although Chicagoans frequently worked double shifts to aid the effort, such production levels created labor shortages that brought the physically disabled, the elderly, and tens of thousands of women into the workplace. War jobs also attracted 60,000 African Americans from the South and an equal number of Japanese Americans who were released from desert detention camps.”
Imagine every neighborhood, every block, every Chicagoan working together for the common good. Now try to imagine that in every community in America.
- Jorge - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:51 am:
Thanks to all who have served. God bless and thank you.
- Lefty Lefty - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 11:54 am:
My dad and uncle were in the Army in WWII and my father-in-law was in the Taiwan Straits in the mid 50s during the Mao-Chiang standoff. I had friends in ROTC in college and now I have friends who served in the first Gulf War and other friends who lost loved ones in the last decade of war.
Our country needs them and they answer the call. We’d be in much worse shape without them. It’s good that their service is not taken for granted or derided as much anymore.
- Cincinnatus - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 12:05 pm:
http://www.cmohs.org/
Specifically:
http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-archive.php
Read.
- downhereforyears - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 12:10 pm:
I have 2 thoughts: 1. I’m very thankful to all who have served and made life better for my family and me, 2. I’m embarassed that a country who depends on our military so much seems to forget them when they get home. We owe them so much!
- D.P. Gumby - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 12:41 pm:
I contemplate the cognitive dissonance that those of us who grew up during Viet Nam have had to overcome in our perception toward the military and how hard it has been for military to recognize the need to break out of its box and become a part of American society. And how we all need to work harder to recognize each other. Having had students who were vets and were still serving was the best thing that ever happened to me in breaking my ill-founded misconceptions and emotional hang-overs. God Bless Us All because we are all together…just not as much as we should be.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 12:43 pm:
Thank you all who have served and serve in the military, and for your selfless service. I think of you today and think that a strong military is so necessary. It is because of you that we are secure and can live without fear.
I asked my dad if his father took him out for ice cream when he was a kid, and he said I was nuts. Bombs and bullets were falling on him and his family in Nazi-occupied Greece. Then there was a civil war, which also impacted my family. I believe that no matter where people stand politically, a strong military is indispensable.
- lady - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 1:11 pm:
Thank you Dad for your service in World War II and thank you to my husband for his service in Vietnam
- Wickedred - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 1:16 pm:
My father was in the Navy during WW II and his brother was in the Marines at the same time. The only children of my paternal grandparents. I have everything my father brought back except his uniform, which when my parents sold their last home they thought no one would want (I about threw up). I have many relatives that are veterans.
I have many friends now that have served the country, many during Viet Nam, the Gulf War and in the recent wars. There are not enough thanks to give for what they sacrificed. This country can not give them enough, yet many are ignored and forgotten, and it saddens me. No veteran should be on the streets, or live in poverty. We, as a country, owe them so much more than any Vets hospital or home could ever provide.
My father was born on Memorial Day. I celebrate him every year on that day and today. I cherish his memory and the strength he showed his family over the years.
I continue to be a Legion Auxiliary member for him. God bless our vets.
- How Ironic - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 1:28 pm:
This year I’m sad. I’ve made it a ritual of calling my Grandfather every year on Veterans day to thank him for his service.
He served with distinction in the Navy, earning several awards and commendations.
He passed on January 1, 2011. He is missed.
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 2:26 pm:
From the latest CMOH Recipient’s ceremony: “Mr. Obama also portrayed Mr. Meyer as conscientious to an almost painstaking degree. When the White House tried to arrange a call to inform Mr. Meyer — who was promoted to sergeant but left active duty for construction work in his home state, Kentucky — that he would be receiving the medal, Mr. Obama said, Mr. Meyer hesitated to get on the phone with the president because he was at work. The call was rescheduled for Mr. Meyer’s lunch break, Mr. Obama said.”
In the words of Rich Miller: Read the whole thing: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/us/dakota-meyer-marine-is-awarded-medal-of-honor.html?scp=1&sq=%22Dakota%20Meyer%22&st=cse
- LisleMike - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 2:31 pm:
For me it is a rememberance of all those who left family and home to go to a place they did not choose, to learn how to do what they never thought they would have to do, and did it. I think of those men who did what had to be done, did it and in some cases were never thanked or shown appreciation for the job done. My Dad had two distinguished flying crosses and five bronze stars for valor awarded him. He never told us anything about them except, ‘I just did what I had to do.
That’s what a veteran is. He is a hero, and a patriot. We exist as a country because of them, their valor, dedication to our country, and the need of the time.
- Justice - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 3:19 pm:
It is a reminder that Freedom is not free. It comes through the unselfish sacrifice of many. To them we are grateful. Semper Fi
- DOWNSTATE DEM - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 3:44 pm:
Veteran’s Day is a very special day. It is my birthday and my wedding anniversary. 11.11.11 also only comes around once a century.
Because I was born at 11 a.m. on 11/11 and being the first grandson of a World War I veteran. The day was always something bigger than myself. My dad and his two brothers all served in the Army after WWII, and my son is a Capt. in the US Air Force today. I understand the committment and sacrifice each has made.
We all need to pause, reflect and take measure of the great gifts given to us by our veterans.
My wish for the day is, that we could all work together, like our vets all did in wartime, and
join together to solve our national, state and local problems. If we all worked like it was not just my own survival, but the guy or gal on my left or my right, we might find solutions to so many problems plaguing us today.
- Todd - Friday, Nov 11, 11 @ 5:58 pm:
Its a day to look at my two sons and know that all the sacrifice and cold nights was worth it.
hoping they never have to.