Today, November 11th, is Veterans Day.........and I want to say thank you to each and every veteran in our great country, and to all of our current military members all over the world.
We live in a fabulous country, where we're free to do and say and be whatever we want, and for those freedoms, we have our proud military members, past - present - future, to thank.
And I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Last year, ABC's "World News Tonight", did a story on their "Person of the Week". That week's selection was a man named Earl Morse. He was chosen because of what he's doing for our WWII Veterans. This is the man who began what has come to be known as the "Honor Flights". These flights take veterans to Washington, DC, to see the WW II Memorial dedicated to them and their service to our country.
He started the first flight taking one veteran he had met in a hospital, and he soon became inundated with applications from other veterans to be part of his flight. The Honor Flights were started 2 years ago. The veterans fly for free, and their "Guardians" pay for their own flights to accompany and assist these great people to be able to see this Memorial before it's too late for them to see it. One of my sisters and her husband, Karen and Ken Rogers, have served as Guardians for these flights out of the Dayton, Ohio area.
*** Nov. 12th - I am editing this post to include a link to a segment on the "Honor Flights" that "Good Morning America" did on their show this morning. Please check out this link to see some WWII Veterans' reactions to seeing this grand Memorial dedicated to them.
I was in DC several years ago, just a few days before they had the dedication ceremony for this beautiful Memorial. We were there for the NAR Mid-Year Meetings that year.
I happened to have the good fortune of going to see the Memorial with a REALTOR friend of mine, Bob Arkley of Vermont, who is a WW II Veteran, and it was an honor to tour this with him. He was so touched by the beauty of this Memorial, and by the acknowledgement of what all those who served 'over there' gave.
These are pictures of the "Freedom Wall".....a wall of 4,000 gold stars that commemorate the over 400,000 troops who gave their lives in the name of freedom for all of us. During WW II, a gold star symbolized a family sacrifice. The marker under the wall says, "Here We Mark the Price of Freedom".
Some very interesting facts about this beautiful Memorial are in this link.
From one side of the WWII Memorial, you can see the Lincoln Memorial, and looking in the other direction, you have a beautiful view of the Washington Monument. If you are ever in DC, this is one Memorial you'll want to spend some time visiting.....it is really just full of history and speaks so much to what we are all about, America, Land of the Free.
My grandfather, R. Oakley Seaver, served in the Army during World War II in Japan. He passed away quite unexpectedly last year. He never got to see this Memorial in person, but I did show him these pictures that I took while there, and I had brought him a brochure and fact sheet about the Memorial. Watching him look it all over, it was as if he were there seeing it in person.
My dad, Harold Cummings, served in the Air Force for 25 years. I am so very proud of both of them, and salute them both and honor them with this post, in honor of not only their service to our country, but to our family as well.
My brother-in-law, Ken Rogers, also served in the Air Force, and continues to work with veterans. My uncle, my mom's brother, Charles Robert Seaver, also served in the Air Force. I thank them as well for their years of service to our great country.
My deepest thanks to one and all who have served and who currently serve, and to those who will one day serve, in all branches of the military. You are all my heroes, each and every one of you......................
Thank YOU!
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