My parents and my son at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Today is Veteran’s Day, and I would like to honor all those who have served for we would not be the great nation we are without them.
My son has learned quite a bit about the American Revolution and the Civil War in school and through our travels. He still has a lot to learn about both World War I and World War II which is part of the curriculum for the second half of this school year. A lot of what he knows about World War II came from our visit to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. and from stories my parents have told him about his great grandfathers who served our country.
My Dad has also shared his thoughts and memories of the Vietnam War while we were in Washington, D.C. at the Vietnam Wall Memorial this past March. He had mentioned that back in the sixties there was little respect or honor for veterans, which is surprising since President Eisenhower made Veteran’s Day an official holiday in 1954.
Teaching our children about those who gave their lives in service to our country is important. As my Dad is the link to learning about my grandfather’s role in World War II and his experience to Vietnam, I am the link for my son to learn about veteran’s role in the Gulf War and of course the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I want my son to be able to relay stories of courage and patriotism to his children one day so they won’t take living in our country for granted. He won’t be able to do that if he doesn’t learn by example. It is our job as parents to make sure our children understand that we owe our security and freedom to our veterans past and present, so when you are traveling make sure you carve out some time to visit one of our country’s National Cemeteries or memorials. Chances are when you are there you might run into a veteran, so make sure to say thank you.
Pointing to my Grandfather’s name at the World War II Museum in New Orleans.
My parents at the Vietnam Wall
It’s so true that kids can learn a great deal about history through their travels. We went on a D-Day tour of Normandy with our kids in the spring and my teen daughter claims she learned more in that one day than she did in her yearlong history class!