But this year I headed for a tour of the monuments with a few of the boys that were in town. Two of Ryan's friends had never been to the monuments before and so we started with the FDR memorial and worked our way through all the big ones.
It was my first time at the Vietnam memorial and you could tell that the pain of the war hadn't left. The wall was lined with messages of love, hope, and reminiscings. Pictures of lost fathers or missing sons were never ending.
And then I saw the man. He was older- his hair had lost it's color, his cheeks had sunk in a little bit- but you could tell the man was full of energy. He was trying to lift the name of someone from the wall onto the paper he had but couldn't figure out how to do it. So bundled up in his red and black Veteran's jacket, he asked a gentleman for help and he succeeded in inscribing the name for him. The old gentleman thanks him and says that was my best bud. Yup. My best bud. I just wanted to come down and give him a good poke, and he waves his first through the air and gets a sad smile. I just wish he were here so I can give the poke myself.
I'd never stopped to think about what Veteran's Day really meant, but when I heard the man say that, my eyes watered and I finally learned to appreciate the significance of this day. So today, on Veteran's Day, I'd like to say thank you to all the families out there- who gave up their sons, their fathers, their grandfathers- and especially all those who still remember and honor the fallen soldiers.
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