Veteran's Day 2013...I talked with and thanked a real veteran!

There are a lot of grateful posts on Facebook on Veteran's Day. It's nice to see people express thanks to those who have served. I decided to have a family night lesson about Veteran's Day. November 11 was originally chosen as Armistice Day to recognize those who served in WW I. It was later changed to Veteran's Day to recognize all veterans and Richard Nixon declared that it would be a federal holiday on the 2nd Monday in November each year. At 11:00 am Americans traditionally have a moment of silence to remember those who have given their lives. That is a fact about Veteran's Day that I didn't know.

So, we did a multiple choice quiz about Veteran's Day then talked about veterans we know in our neighborhood and in our family. I was thinking mostly of Keenan's dad and brother Kauhi. Allie reminded us that Mike is a vet. So is my uncle Dave. I called mom to ask her if Mike enlisted or was drafted. She didn't know. So, I called Mike to ask him, We had a really nice talk about his service at the end of the Vietnam War. Below is what he shared with me.

He had a high number in the lottery near the end of the war. He knew he'd eventually be called up, so he decided to enlist. I asked if there was an advantage to enlisting. The advantage was that you could select the branch and what assignment you wanted, so both Mike and Dave had enlisted for those reasons. Mike was 20! That's Kamiko's age!

Mike enlisted as a medic in the Army. He went to Fort Ord in Monterey, California, for basic training. Then he went on to special medic training. Right after completing that training, they sent him to Germany. He was supposed to be assigned to a military hospital in the states. His work in Germany wasn't what he'd been trained for and I get the impression it wasn't really meaningful work. When he brought the mistake to the Army's attention, they told him he could remain in Germany and not be re-assigned or he could be released and return home. He chose to return home. He was able to use the GI Bill to help pay for college and has full military benefits.

He then told me of a recent experience he had. He travelled with a tour group to Europe to see WWII sites, including Normandy, Omaha Beach, etc. He said that was very emotional. What they didn't know was that the locals had planned a ceremony to recognize veterans who were that day. So, they invited vets to come stand on a stage and the French locals sang the National Anthem to honor them. They also gave each of them a long-stemmed red rose. They then walked to the ocean and threw their roses in the ocean. Mike said it was a very moving experience, which I can only imagine. He walked to the beach with a fellow vet who had thanked Mike for serving and told Mike that his father had died in WWII. Mike accompanied him to the ocean as the man cried a bit.

Mike told me that, coincidentally, a friend who took a picture of that ceremony had emailed the picture to Mike yesterday. He forwarded it to me. I'm including it below. I then thanked Mike for his service and told him it was great to talk to a real veteran on Veteran's Day. I'm grateful to all who have and currently serve. We finished the evening by taking a loaf of lemon zucchini bread to Brother Staples, a veteran in our ward, who served in Germany and France at the end of the Korean War.

Uncle James Michael Sears is 2nd from left

Memorial on Omaha Beach, made by French artist to memorialize the 1,200 lives lost between 6:00 and 8:00 am on June 6, 1944