Veterans Day

Some thoughts on appreciating our veterans.

We celebrate Veterans Day today. It is a holiday for some.
We honor our veterans with parades and speeches and often very little else.

A few years ago I called a friend of mine to wish him well on Veterans Day. He was elderly then well into his 80’s and he has since passed. My friend's name was George Christie. He served as a Navy carrier pilot in world war two and as a submariner in Korea. He said to me that in all the years since those wars, only one time did someone thank him for his time and service.

He said it happened serendipitously in a conversation he had with a young man in a store. George said he never expected to be thanked for doing his duty to his country, but he was choked up a little when it happened.

It is interesting to note how little effort it takes to say, “thank you”, and how special it becomes.

There is another incident that I like to tell.

It happened a couple of years ago just before the holidays on an airplane.

Just before takeoff the Captain of the commercial jet liner makes the announcement that there is a young GI on board who just returned from Iraq and the Gulf War and he’s going home for the holidays. The Captain invites the soldier to take the only available seat left in first class as a gift from the airline.

A little while later the Captain gets back on the intercom and says he’s just been informed that there are two other GI’s on board who are also just back from Iraq and the Gulf War. He said he wanted to acknowledge them and thank them for their service and he regretted there were no more seats in first class for the other two soldiers.

Immediately two businessmen in first class got up and gave up their seats to the two GI’s. The entire plane applauded.

Thank you George, thank you Veterans, then and now.