Gratitude Challenge -- Day 11

On November 11, 2011, I'm thankful for all of the veterans that have served our country so that my family and I can enjoy the freedom and prosperity that we do.

Interestingly, I did a bit of research regarding Veterans Day earlier this week. (Confession: I was double-checking the truth of a facebook post.)

According to the US Department of Veteran Affairs website (here), "Veterans Days is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty."

Therefore, I'm going to share a few pictures of the veterans in my life that I'm proud of. I still think that I should be able to find a single picture of all three of them together, but I haven't uncovered it yet. Instead, I'll just dig through the archives and find some old ones that would be fun to share.

My Dad and Tim, April 1996 (Tim's graduation/commissioning)

My father-in-law, also an Air Force veteran

I am thankful for all the veterans that have served our country for the past 235 years, and I continue to be thankful for the men and women that serve today. I'm blessed to be able to see so many of these loyal veterans every day. Some are veterans that have served for dozens of years and some that have perhaps only served a year or two, but all are proud to defend our country.

I'm proud to live where we can hear the Star Spangled Banner play at 4:30 every afternoon and where everyone stops to show respect for our country. I'm proud to be part of a military community where we don't just say we're proud to be an American -- we are proud to be Americans.

Thank you seems like so little to offer, but I offer it from my heart.