Russell Bomgardner, US Navy
Mr. Stauffer US Army 82nd Airborne and 28th Division (Korean War)
Matthias Gutman US Navy
Harold Billow US Army, Malmedy Massacre survivor
Richard Boyd, Royal Air Force, and his wife Rita
Nathan Kline US Army Air Corps
Happy Veterans Day!
As my readers well know, we are very fond of our veterans and so appreciate all of their sacrifices made for love of country and the preservation of freedom. Veterans Day is a public holiday in the United States honoring all military veterans who have served in our Armed Forces. November 11th is also Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I, and Canada today celebrates Remembrance Day in memory of all their fallen. If you haven't had the chance to attend community events such as parades and military services you can still take celebrate at home and take this opportunity to teach your children about the sacrifices made by all of our veterans, past and present.
We had the pleasure of hearing the United States Army Band 'Pershing's Own' the other night. It was a wonderful concert of patriotic tunes with the theme of honoring our United States veterans in all the branches of service. You can watch and listen to some of their excellent music at their video channel.
Here at home today we will be listening to some of our favorite wartime and patriotic music-
The Great War: Classical and Popular Selections from the Time of World War I
82nd Airborne Division Chorus Tribute to the Heroes of WWII
Over There! Songs from America's Wars a wonderful and entertaining vocal recital by Jon English
These collections contain some of our favorite songs like Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!, Colonel Bogey March, Pack Up Your Troubles, It's a Long Way to Tipperary and Keep the Home Fires Burning, This is the Army Mr. Jones, Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree, The Battle Cry of Freedom, Over There, K-K-K-Katy. All the songs Eliza loves to sing!
The Spirit of Freedom This collection by the Washington Men's Camerata is also fabulous with many beloved tunes like Chester and Eternal Father Strong to Save along with all the Armed Forces service songs.
If you don't already listen to music like this to enhance your children's love of history and patriotic spirit, today is a great day to start!
All the photos at the top of this post are from meetings of the World War II Roundtable that my family attends each month that feature veterans giving talks about their service experiences. You can read some about our local group in this article: We're Here Because They Were There. Many communities have these meetings, and you might consider finding them and taking advantage of hearing WWII veterans telling their stories firsthand while there is still time to do so.
We are of course flying the flag today and noting the other stars and stripes raised throughout our neighborhood.
Some of the girls made some poppy prints yesterday. The poppy is used as a symbol of veterans in reference to the poem In Flanders Field, written 100 years ago during World War I.
Instructions for making the poppies are courtesy of That Artist Woman. We will be using the prints as cards along to go along with the treats we will be delivering to some local veterans we know.
Today is the perfect day to thank some veterans for their service and let them know their sacrifices made, no matter how long ago, are so much appreciated and not forgotten. If you're not able to visit and deliver goodies you or your children can still give a phone call to family members and friends to say hello and thank you.
We are also happy to share some coloring pages that my daughters made for this day.
Anna has done an illustration of the American soldier through various eras - World War I, World War II, Korean War, Viet Nam and modern.
Lydia has pictured United States servicemen of the various Armed Forces - Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force.
soldiers through the years: Download Veterans' Day 2015 ARBK © ponderedinmyheart
branches of service: Download Veterans' Day 2015 LGTK © ponderedinmyheart
Happy Veterans Day and a big 'Thank you for your service!' to all of our veterans and all the families of those who serve today!
