Why Do We Honor Veterans?

Think about these simple things – taking a walk down the street, going to a ball game, or choosing where to live. What would it be like not to be able to do these things freely? Thanks to our country’s veterans we do not have to find out. We have the luxury of living our lives however we want, without force. We can choose where we want to live, where we want to go to school and what kind of job we want to have. Many other countries are not so lucky. They cannot choose freely where or how to live. These decisions are made for them and they often live in fear.

Our country’s veterans fought hard in many wars to protect our freedom and keep us safe. They fought selflessly risking their own lives, suffering lifelong injuries, or even dying for their country. They spent countless weeks, months or years away from their families to protect our families. Many families were never able to reunite. Children lost their parents and parents lost their children. These veterans made the ultimate sacrifice

of their own lives. We must never forget the sacrifices that they made for the simple rights that we have every day. We should never take these rights for granted as they came and continue to come at a great price.

Even as we speak there are thousands of soldiers living in adverse conditions fighting to protect us against future terror attacks. When we go to bed at night in our safe homes, soldiers overseas try to sleep with noise of gunshots, the intense desert heat, and the fear of being killed while they sleep on hard cots. We get a glimpse of what is going on when we watch the news, but we can conveniently turn the channel to a ball game

or even turn off the TV when we have heard enough. The soldiers cannot turn the channel or turn off the TV. They are living this life twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

There are many different ways that we can honor our veterans. No way is too small. We can honor our veterans with large parades on Veteran’s Day or we can simple say “thank you” whenever we see a veteran walking down the street. We can show respect to veterans by flying an American flag at home or putting flags on veteran’s graves. Many schools honor veterans by having special ceremonies inviting local veterans to share their stories.

The important fact is that we do honor the veterans in any way that we can. We never want to forget what great sacrifices that they have made and continue to make for our country’s freedom and safety. We owe them gratitude for allowing us to enjoy the rights we have. The next time you say it’s a sacrifice to go to school, stop and think about what a great sacrifice the veterans made so we have the privilege to go to school.

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                            (Photos courtesy of oldsaybrooknow.com)