Happy Veteran's Day!

I will not forget what a veteran told me years ago....

"There is NOTHING "happy" about Veteran's Day. There is "courage" and "honor" and "duty" and "sacrifice", but nowhere does the word "happy" come to mind. It is a day of mourning - a day for remembering. Please do not use the word "happy" with regards to Veteran's Day."

Co. Sgt. Major George Cronkite - Queen's Own Rifles, 2nd Div.

The veteran was my grandfather.

While I understand the sentiment and appreciation that this thread intended, please re-consider the choice of words, especially when speaking to a vet.
 
shane45-1911 said:
I will not forget what a veteran told me years ago....

"There is NOTHING "happy" about Veteran's Day. There is "courage" and "honor" and "duty" and "sacrifice", but nowhere does the word "happy" come to mind. It is a day of mourning - a day for remembering. Please do not use the word "happy" with regards to Veteran's Day."

Co. Sgt. Major George Cronkite - Queen's Own Rifles, 2nd Div.

The veteran was my grandfather.

While I understand the sentiment and appreciation that this thread intended, please re-consider the choice of words, especially when speaking to a vet.
Click to expand...
That's exactly how I feel about Memorial Day. Thanks for sharing his thoughts.
 
shane45-1911 said:
I will not forget what a veteran told me years ago....

"There is NOTHING "happy" about Veteran's Day. There is "courage" and "honor" and "duty" and "sacrifice", but nowhere does the word "happy" come to mind. It is a day of mourning - a day for remembering. Please do not use the word "happy" with regards to Veteran's Day."

Co. Sgt. Major George Cronkite - Queen's Own Rifles, 2nd Div.

The veteran was my grandfather.

While I understand the sentiment and appreciation that this thread intended, please re-consider the choice of words, especially when speaking to a vet.
Click to expand...
It doesn’t bother me one bit when someone tells me happy veteran’s day. It kinda makes me feel uncomfortable though, as I felt like I just did 4 years and got out. Don’t take what they say, but what they mean. Now Happy Memorial Day is the oxymoron.
 
shane45-1911 said:
I will not forget what a veteran told me years ago....

"There is NOTHING "happy" about Veteran's Day. There is "courage" and "honor" and "duty" and "sacrifice", but nowhere does the word "happy" come to mind. It is a day of mourning - a day for remembering. Please do not use the word "happy" with regards to Veteran's Day."

Co. Sgt. Major George Cronkite - Queen's Own Rifles, 2nd Div.

The veteran was my grandfather.

While I understand the sentiment and appreciation that this thread intended, please re-consider the choice of words, especially when speaking to a vet.
Click to expand...
All due respect to your father of course, he's probably done more in the military than I will throughout my career but I have to disagree. Memorial day is for remembrance of the lost while veterans day is a celebration of those who served in the past and are still around today. Armed forces day is for those currently serving. Nothing wrong with saying "happy veterans day" in my opinion, as we can be happy for the guys that came back home from combat and I think any of my boys would say the same. But I get that memorial and Veterans Day are sometimes used interchangeably and “happy Memorial Day” would definitely be a strange thing to say.
 
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Ron Sabbagh said:
I always hesitate to say “Happy” Veterans Day. Not being a veteran myself, I go out of my way to say “thank you for your service” instead.

This is a pic of me in the foreground any my patient/friend John Slavish. Slav was larger than life. Legendary linebacker at University of Delaware - he famously knocked a freshman Joe Biden unconscious during the football team tryouts. He went on to serve 2 tours in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne and lived the life of a patriotic family man who served his community well. I was gonna give him a new UD Football Jersey today for Veteran’s Day but he passed 2 days ago from a chronic illness. I know he’s a stranger to y’all but forgive me.

Thank you Slav and thank you to all you veterans. You are the best.🇺🇸

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Kind of how I feel too. I've never wished people a "Happy" Remembrance Day. There's always a few smiles at the Cenotaphs when you bump into people you served with, no matter how many decades pass you by, but the day has a lot of gravity to it. Remembrance Day was a stamina test for my liver, once the solemnity of the day's parades ended. It started with flasks passed around in the ranks in between parades and hot rum toddies served in the company lines by the regimental association. Then up to the Jr Ranks for a couple drinks, before I made a point of gathering a bunch of younger troops to do a circuit of the Legions to show respect to the veterans. As the years went on, there were a lot less veterans at those Legions, but I felt it was important to make the time to listen to them. Those old guys even taught me the art of stealing signs for our mess (the trick was to go there the night before to oil the bolts, so they came loose easier). Then out to dinner with your mates and the bars after that, to round out about 12 hours of drinking.
 
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