Why We Should Honor Retired Military Personnel

For those who live in America, the patriotic season begins in late May with Memorial Day and goes on to November, when Veterans Day is celebrated. There are also other holidays in between, including Flag Day, the 4th of July and Labor Day. Those are the major patriotic holidays but there are also plenty of others. The first holiday actually comes before Memorial Day and is called Armed Forces Day. Then we have Citizenship Day and Patriot Day in September, followed by United Nations Day right before Halloween in October.

Most people in the U.S. take the major patriotic holidays seriously, in addition to some of the minor ones. This is probably partially due to the fact that so many people have veterans in their families, or at least have some relationship to people who served in the U.S. armed forces. For them, there’s a very personal connection to these holidays. That’s why there’s a growing tradition of using vintage Veterans Day cards or veterans clip art images to send greetings that pay homage to veterans for Veterans Day. A simple card to a retired military officer or soldier can make a world of difference to a veteran who might think his or her contribution to our national well-being has been forgotten.

This especially applies to soldiers returning from Iraq. They have experienced some true horrors and should be given our thanks for enduring that on our behalf. People don’t make a fuss over Veterans Day like they do with Independence Day, so it would be easy for veterans to think we don’t care. Chances are, no one ran around waving American flag images as they returned home. And you usually don’t see that kind of hoopla for Veterans Day either. That’s probably because most people don’t want to remember sad things.

It would probably be better to express our appreciation every time we run across a retired veteran. That will let them know we appreciate their contributions all year-round, not just on Veterans Day. That small remembrance can mean a lot to someone who has served their country but may feel forgotten.