Thank You Veterans!

Today is Veteran's Day, a day to honor our men and women who have served or are currently serving in the military. The men and women who have put their lives on the line so that we can enjoy the freedom that our forefathers fought so hard to earn.

What strikes me a little funny about today is that I am off work. This would be a perfect day to teach my students about what Veteran's day is all about. Instead, I'm just sitting here enjoying a day at home. A guy on our fire department mentioned last night that it is ironic that he, a Vietnam Vet, has to work today of all days. Interesting.

I got to thinking about all the men in my family (13 of them to be exact), who have served in the Armed Forces, and I wanted to do something to honor them. So I called my mom and my grandma, and here is my Soldier Salute for Veteran's Day 2008.

On my Mom's side of the family:

• Grandpa was in the Navy. He joined during WWII after Pearl Harbor was bombed. He drove PT Boats (like JFK did) and was also the chauffeur for the Admiral.
• Uncle Bus and Uncle Doug (my grandma's brothers) were both in the Navy.
• Uncle Taylor, Uncle Marvin and Uncle Melvin (my grandma's brothers-in-law) were in the Army. Uncle Taylor was wounded while fighting on the European front of WWII.
• My cousin's husband, Scott, is in the Air Force. He was in Iraq during the first Iraq war back in the early 1990s. His group dropped bombs on Baghdad. He is still in the service as part of the Air Force National Guard.

On my Dad's side of the family:

• Uncle Herman (dad's brother) was in the Army.
• Uncle Howard (dad's brother) was in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
• Uncle Randy and Uncle Tom (dad's brothers) are both retired from the Air Force after 20 years of service each.
• My cousins Danny and Frank (Uncle Howard's sons) were both in the Army.

Thanks to these men, and countless other men and women, we as Americans can continue to enjoy our freedoms. God bless our troops, and God Bless America.