Thank a Vet
Posted on Nov 13, 2019 by Shari Van Baale
If you love your country, thank a vet.
If you cherish freedom, thank a vet.
For the price they paid, for the sacrifice they made.
If you love your country, thank a vet.
— From “Thank a Vet” by Mike Wilson
I first heard this song when my daughter sang it with her choir in the Veterans Day program in elementary school. My husband and father-in-law, both veterans, were among those in the audience. It does a good job of summarizing the meaning behind Veterans Day and what veterans sacrificed for our freedom.
It’s a shame children no longer get Veterans Day off of school. I grew up in the Chicago area, where all Chicago public schools and most suburban public schools are closed for Casimir Pulaski Day, a holiday observed in honor of a Revolutionary War cavalry officer.
Casimir Pulaski Day is a legal holiday in Illinois, but not many other places. Not many people have heard of him, and very few other areas get the day off, but apparently most of Illinois can honor a little-known war hero, but not the sacrifices of veterans.
To me, that does not make sense. When I was a child, we got both Casimir Pulaski Day AND Veterans Day off. Today, they are still getting Pulaski Day off in the Chicago area, but very few schools get a holiday to remember the sacrifices made by ALL veterans. I am not trying to belittle Pulaski, but merely saying Veterans Day should still be honored as a holiday by schools, and not just banks and the government.
Monday was Veterans Day, but it’s not too late...
If you love your country, thank a vet.
Shari Van Baale
Communications Coordinator