Veteran's Day and What It Means To Me
Veteran's Day is a day to celebrate or honor the people that cared and served for our country.
Back then you could be a young teenager and be asked to join the military and if you didn't you would get into big trouble. No one really had much of a choice.
Many dangers would occur during war. My grandfather went to Vietnam two different times. Besides earning a special medal called the purple heart there were scars left in his heart from this war. Dangers still lurk in the grounds, because there are still underground mines there. When a soldier would step on one that was pressure released he would stand there what seemed to be eternity not moving trying to not die but once he got tired and couldn't stand still anymore the mind would go off and kill him. These underground minds must stop.
Families and friends were devastated. Wives were worried if their loved one would return home to them safe or not, becoming a widow. Kids were worried if their father would come home to play in the sandbox with them ever again or if they were to wait by the window forever in hopes to see their dad again.
Many veterans are still fighting the Vietnam war in their minds. Also veterans were not welcomed home so this has caused many homeless people. They now live in shelters or on the streets. There is also special hospitals called V.A.'s for the disabled veterans.
Thousands of men were left behind when the Vietnam War ended. These soldiers are known as P.O.W.'s which stand for Prisoner of War, M.I.A.'s which stand for Missing in Action, or K.I.A.'s which stand for Killed in Action. Even though the remains of several dead soldiers were brought back home there were many bodies that have not been yet returned.
The Vietnam Memorial Wall is located in Washington D.C. The Wall contains all of the P.O.W.'s , M.I.A.'s, and K.I.A.'s. People visit this wall daily to remember and pay their respects to their loved ones that never came home. Even people who didn't know anyone that went to Vietnam go to visit the wall.
There is also a wall called The Moving Wall. The moving wall is half the size of the real wall. There is 3 of these walls that travel all over the United States so that people that cant go to Washington D.C. to see the real wall can still pay their respects to these fine men.
Last summer my mother took my sister and I to see the moving wall. We went to the opening ceremony, closing ceremony, and one other time even though my mom visited the wall every day. We have the ceremonies on video. My mother is very active in the P.O.W. issue. She has adopted 3 P.O.W.'s and my sister and I have adopted one each. Part of adopting a P.O.W. is to write the President of the United States and to continuously try your best to help bring your adopted soldier home. Whether dead or alive this is our way of letting America and family's of these soldiers know we still care and haven't forgot what they did for us.
These men loved their country enough to die for it. It is our turn to show them we still care, love them, and haven't forgot. They should be walking on or buried in American soil where they belong.
These words come from a girl with America on her mind!
The End
Thank you to everyone who has visited our website.
Melissa and Nicole
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