November 11th, 2009 | by Chloe Harris |
We all love heroes! Historical heroes, contemporary heroes, paranormal heroes, heroes of every persuasion in many attractive shapes and sizes. But there are heroes and then there are HEROES.
Here in the US, November 11th is Veteran’s Day (its Remembrance Day in Canada so Susan Lyons tells me). It’s a day we recognize our military heroes that have served and sacrificed for their country. In honor of Veterans Day, I thought I’d take a break from talking about our wonderful imaginary heroes and talk about the real things and three ways you can show your support today.
1. Find a Boy Scout
One of the easiest things you can do to support our troops currently serving is track down your neighborhood Boy Scout and ask about Operation Popcorn. For a range of donations Trail’s End will send a variety of popcorn treats to U.S. Soldiers and families during the Boy Scouts current popcorn drive.
2. Give to a Historic and Romantic Organization
An organization with a very romantic history of service is the USO whose motto is “Till everyone comes home” For 47 years the USO has meant a little piece of home to our troops in faraway places. Their mission is “to provide morale, welfare and recreation-type services to service members and their families.” Check out their how to help page.
3. Go Shopping
My first thought when I think of veterans is my grandfather but there are now many veterans younger than I am. And there is a band new organization dedicated to “ honor and empower wounded warriors”. The Wounded Warriors Project provides “services and programs that ease the burdens of the most seriously wounded and their families, aid in the recovery process and smooth their transition back to civilian life.” You can help them by going shopping. They have teamed up with Overstocks.com. All net proceeds from the sell of WWP logoed Adidas gear goes to the project.
So on this Veteran’s Day, track down a boy scout, check out a bit of nostalgia, buy some cool threads and support our true heroes. Do you have a true hero in your life?
Chloe Harris
www.authorchloeharris.com
Actually, you may think this a bit different, but I always recall that my grandmother sent her eldest son to WW1 and my dad (her youngest) to WW2.
For her eldest (she had 10 children=dirt poor back then) she saved every dime of his pay for when he came back. He was sending it to help out back home, but she refused to spend any. When he did come back he had enough to start a business that went on to be quite a success.
With WW2 and my dad: he was by then her sole support and exempt from service but he signed up anyway. He spent his time in the Battle of Britain on the heavy artillery and aimed the big guns into the sky to try to stop the rain of bombs. Must have been a terribly hellish experience b/c he never, ever spoke of it. He was wounded and came home early.
And now my SIL has served in Afghanistan and is marching in our parade today, so I’m off to the laying of the wreathes.
I know my worry and concern for him was a mere taste of what other families and mothers go through (my grandmother included) but without their strength maybe it would be harder to serve.
What a lovely post today! Thank you (and for remembering Canada’s contribution and service as well)
by Bonnie Edwards · November 11th, 2009 at 11:54 amHow awesome that you are today you suspended the usual and lovely talk about our imaginary heroes to focus on those who make OUR world a place were we can live in freedom.
My personal thanks include my brother, 3 uncles, 2 cousilns, a grandfather and my daddy. He may be my father, but he will always be “My daddy.” The total years of service for these in my immediate family is over 200.
So, thank you to all who serve and to all those who support them!
by Caron · November 11th, 2009 at 2:34 pm(sorry for the grammatical errors – It should read, “How awesome that today you suspended…”)
by Caron · November 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pmHi Bonnie, what wonderful tales from your family.
I have a trunk full of my grandfather’s things from WWII when he was in the Navy but I can’t imagine what it’s like for families today.
by Chloe Harris · November 11th, 2009 at 6:36 pmThanks Caron!
And thanks to your family members for their service.
Oh and don’t worry about the errors, I am the worst at not being able to proofread myself.
by Chloe Harris · November 11th, 2009 at 6:39 pmBoth my grandfather and grandmother on my mom’s side were in the Navy for WWII. My mom, and her brother were both in the Navy for the Vetnam War. My brother-in-law and 3 cousins are or were in the different branches of service. My brother is currently over seas. He has been in each “war” since 1993 when he enlisted.
At our last home game today for the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR) they had a half time enlistment cermony for 135 men and women. It was awesome.
I thank every service member that I come across. Right now with the company that I work for, we are giving away to every service member that comes in to the store in uniform, free soft serve yogurt. If they have their military ID then they still get a discount.
I am so thankful everyday that there are men and women out there that have choosen to do this.
by Gina · November 15th, 2009 at 1:24 am