Today, we honor those men and women who have spent time in service to our country. Veterans Day is not the same as Memorial Day in May, where we remember those who died. This is for our living veterans. Many have served and sacrificed at high cost to them.
When we see those in uniform, it’s heart-warming to see someone walk up and thank them for their service. However, many more are walking among us, invisible, disguised in street clothes, or by aged faces. They stand behind you in checkout lines. They sit on the same pew at church. They’re in nursing homes and hospitals. They are young ones, mowing your neighbor’s lawn.
On this day, we officially recognize their contribution to our continued freedom. Our welfare as a nation is in the hands of those who currently serve and have done so in the past. So we say thank you.
I don’t think I’ve ever thanked my brother, who served in the National Guard for decades. We tend to overlook that branch of the military. But they are trained, at the ready, and are called upon regularly also. So, thank you, Bill, for your service.
Shalom, Dottie
Dottie Lovelady Rogers 
How true Ms. Dottie. Often, veterans are “hidden among us”, although if you look they’re easy enough to recognize. Some have that “thousand yard stare” as though they are looking long into the past. Most of them are kind, courteous, respectful, and gentle. They’ve been tempered by the horrors of war and they, more than most, understand the sanctity of life and the high cost of freedom. Some may wear a baseball cap that shows them a veteran. Many who stood straight and tall and proud are no stooped with age and the weight of memories they carry with them. All of them, regardless of branch, or rank, or MOS are deserving of our respect. For all those who honorably served or were discharged for reasons other than dishonorable, I offer my thanks also. God’s blessings folks; we are free because of the sacrifices made by our veterans.
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I believe I remember that you also served, so thanks to you too.
I admire the courage and strength that it takes to devote a portion of one’s life to doing that, and also realize it becomes more than “a portion” of life.
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