This coming Monday is Veterans Day, and as far as I am concerned, it’s in my top five most important days we honor each year. My top five are Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.
You can rank them any way you want to, but for me Veterans Day and Memorial Day are only behind Christmas.
I have told you this before. I am not a veteran, and the fact that I am not is one of my life’s regrets.
One of my brothers served in the National Guard, my dad did a 10-year stint in the Air Force, and my grandfather served in the Navy. — And then there is me. I have never even had a draft card, in fact never even registered with the draft.
It’s not that I am a draft dodger or anything. It’s just that Uncle Sam decided to abolish the draft about the time I was old enough to register, and then a number of years later they reinstated the draft. But by then I was too old to register.
The one thing about regrets is as time goes by you can’t do much to fix whatever is causing the regret.
It’s far too late for me to enlist in the military, but that doesn’t mean I can’t serve and honor veterans in other ways.
I ask you to join with me on Monday at 11:11 a.m. to take a minute out of your day and stop whatever you are doing to turn your thoughts to the men and women who have served or are currently serving this country in the military.
As I finished typing that last paragraph, it dawned on me that if that is all we do, we should be embarrassed. I would encourage you to attend one of the Veterans Day programs in our area.
I know this might sound a little corny, but recite the Pledge of Allegiance before you head out to work Monday morning. Have Siri play our national anthem for you. Shake the hand of a veteran. Look them in the eyes and say “Thank you.”
I started doing something this past Memorial Day and will do so again this Veterans Day and every year from now on.
I fly the flag that draped my father’s coffin on Memorial Day and now on Veterans Day. I do so knowing my dad is proud of his service to this country.