Veterans Day

On November 11 each year Americans and Canadians from what I understand commemorate the sacrifices made by soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen in serving the country. In my mind, it is the second most important civil "holiday" we have in the United States behind Independence Day. Both of my grandfathers served their country in the Far East, Grandpa Tony at Guadalcanal and the Pacific as a Marine during World War II and Grandpa John in Korea immediately after World War II. Regrettably, I never took the opportunity to speak with either of them about their experiences except briefly with Grandpa Tony after he had started to lose the ability to speak. Even in his eighties and with great difficulty communicating, Grandpa Tony remembered his experience and showed a reluctance to speak about it in a great amount of detail. Imagining what he and millions of soldiers and Marines like him did during the War in the Pacific and since then is awe-inspiring.