Another Veterans Day has come and gone, the parade in Emporia was cancelled because of wind and rain, I had thought I would go and snap a few photos to post. I also forgot to go by the cemetary(I went by twice, I forgot to stop and take a picture). As a child, mostly the veterans we were honoring were WW2 vintage, now we have some new crops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the much maligned Vietnam veteran is getting their share of honor, albeit late, as well as those from the "forgotten war", Korea.
I watched the 9pm BBC America newscast, and saw the 3 surviving Brit WW1 vets laying their wreaths, they looked to be in very good shape for being past 107, one I believe was 112. They also interviewed the only WW1 vet alive in the US, he was 107 or 108, and seemed remarkable as well.
Also on the BBC news was a segment about "Honor Flights" and the man who started them, Earl Morse(I hope this is right, for some reason even though I just watched it, I am having trouble remembering his name). These are one of the neatest things I have seen happen for a long time. The first I knew of them, was when a plane load of local WW2 vets headed off to Washington DC to see the WW2 memorial. They were each accompanied by a high school student, to help them with any problem that arose. This was a totally free trip for the vets, they made the trip in one day. The local flight was coordinated by a nearby school district, I wasn't sure who started them or if they were national until tonight. An 83 year old fellow who is married to one of my granddads cousins, and who for the last 20 years has been my chief mechanical advisor participated in the first flight from this area, and it made his day. He couldn't stop talking about what a wonderful experience it was, from the way they were treated to being able to see something he thought he never would see, the monument honoring him and his millions of comrades. It is one of those things that come along that make you have faith in the human race, and I think it was a great experience for the 16-18 year old kids who went along, the newest generation helping the greatest generation, and learning in the process.
I thank God for all the men and women who were willing to lay their lives on the line for our nation, and I thank God for our allies around the world and their armed forces. We owe our freedom to these brave people.