On Monday, November 11, 2024, our nation celebrated Veterans Day with programs, parades, and other events at local schools, churches, civic centers, and government sites.
According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Day is an annual celebration, designed to honor America’s veterans for “their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.”
Though it was observed on a Monday this year, Veterans Day (originally called Armistice Day) is always celebrated on the 11th of November, regardless of which day of the week it falls.
Specific observance of Veterans Day on this date honors the fact that in 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, an armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect, basically ending World War I, or “the war to end all wars,” as it was ironically called.
If you ever have a little time, go back and study the history of this day, as well as the national day of observance known as Memorial Day. Though very different in theme, they are both holidays that we should willingly strive to help our children understand – and continue to observe with honor.
I would venture to say that many American children do not know the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day. They do not fully understand that one holiday honors those who sacrificed their time and talents to protect and defend our nation while the other day commemorates those who gave their all by laying down their lives for America.
Both groups of veterans were willing to die for our nation; one group did.
As such, it is imperative that future generations of America not only keep these two national holidays intact, but future citizens would do well to honor our living vets throughout the year with heartfelt words and deeds.
Truly, American heroes walk among us, and I, for one, could do a much better job of seeking them out and thanking them for their service.
For example, I am married to a veteran of the United States Air Force, and we both work here at American Family Association. But I was slightly shocked to discover how many other veterans worked alongside us at AFA.
We wrote about those 10 veterans in the November issue of The Stand, and we even shared a small picture of some of them, standing outside our ministry headquarters: Britt Baskett, Ken Green, Bo Hefner, Fred Jackson, Randy Lucius, Thomas May, Kevin Parker, Bobby Roza, Geoff Wagner, and The Stand’s very own Matthew White.
It was a small gesture, but we simply wanted to honor these men who served in various branches of the armed forces.
Now, as I said earlier, we could all probably do better at seeking out and honoring the veterans among us. Yes, it might take extra time and effort, but every act of kindness directed toward an American veteran is most certainly a worthy endeavor.
And recently, I was privileged to see the impact of such intentional kindness firsthand.
One of our precious readers of The Stand read our small salute to the veterans at AFA, but she took her readership a step further. She invested an obviously immense amount of her personal time and effort to honor those 10 AFA veterans.
This very special reader is from Fairhope, Alabama. I won’t share her whole name, but I will call her by her first name and address her the way we respectively address all the beloved ladies in small towns across the South – I will call her “Miss Nancy.”
Amazingly, Miss Nancy took the time to handcraft a beautiful card for each of the 10 AFA vets and write each man a personal note of thanks for their service to our country.
Then, Miss Nancy gathered the cards into one pack and mailed them to one of AFA’s vice presidents. In turn, our VP brought them to our department so The Stand could have the joy of delivering the cards to each man.
And right on time, Carly, our beloved admin and staff photographer, delivered them to each of our AFA guys on Veterans Day, Monday morning, November 11.
Now, I cannot imagine the thought, time, and money that Miss Nancy put into this project. But I can imagine the love in her heart that crafted each card and message.
That love was evident on the faces of the AFA veterans as they received their cards from Miss Nancy. For each vet, the first response was absolute surprise, and then, even for the most reserved of these men, there came a moment of joy – joy at being recognized, remembered, and appreciated.
For many of these men, words are hard to come by, including my husband, Randy. But when I asked him about his card later that night, he smiled broadly and commented on just how unbelievable it was to him that someone who did not even know him cared enough to thank him in that manner.
It made his day! And we tucked away his card from Miss Nancy for safekeeping.
Of course, I was also amazed at the thoughtfulness of this reader from Alabama, but even more than that, I was humbled and convicted by her actions.
I live with this veteran. I know full well the sacrifices he made, the sacrifices our family made – and yet, I had failed to truly remember or honor those sacrifices. I had briefly whispered a “Happy Veterans Day” to him and moved on with my day. And though I had written about these 10 men who work at AFA, I had made no plans to honor them either.
But Miss Nancy did!
And for her actions, I will forever be grateful. She reminded me that I have 10 American heroes walking alongside me every day, and one of those heroes is mine.
So, thank you, Miss Nancy, for remembering – and for reminding the rest of us – to never forget.
