Thanking veterans for their service is an important act of gratitude which is expressed in various ways and has gone on for thousands of years.
How often have the praises of victorious soldiers been sang, acted out in plays, and written in books? Parades, speeches, and reenactments are just a small part of honoring brave soldiers and important battles.
Veterans day focuses on thanking veterans, both alive and gone, for their service.
I grew up Air Force and married a Marine. I have uncles and grandparents that served our country in times of war and peace.
For me, Veterans Day is special. It is a time that we are able to show gratitude to those who keep our country safe. These men and women put their lives at risk to protect those they love. They serve in a world full of hate, evil, and as my kids would say, “bad guys”.
Veterans are true heroes.
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Why Thanking Veterans for Their Service is Important
First, thanking others for the things they do for us is honoring God and them. In a world of self-absorption (is that a word?) it is important that we look outside of ourselves and appreciate the sacrifices others make for our comfort and in the case of veterans, our safety.
The Apostle Paul often gives thanks for others.
- “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy.” Philippians 1:3-4 NKJV
- “do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” Ephesians 1:6
- “We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” Colossians 1:
Using Paul as our example and gratitude shown in the Bible, let’s make a habit of thanking the people in our lives that help, encourage, and support us.
Veterans often make a lot of sacrifices for their country. For those who are active in war, they put their lives at risk daily.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13
For those who are not facing dangers every day, their lives are still an example of sacrifice. Many move from location to location to serve their country. As kids, my sister and I were uprooted every two years. I didn’t think much about it, but now as a mom, it looks a bit different. Packing up and moving across the country or to a different one altogether is challenging. To make new friends, embrace new coworkers, and pick up life again in a totally different place takes courage and commitment.
Honoring Veterans Day: What can We Do?
What can we do to honor Veterans Day? Here is a great list of ideas to get you started.
- Show up to parades, welcome home events etc.
- Support our Troops and Operation Gratitude are wonderful programs to provide care packages for deployed troops. Get your kids and/or church involved with this one!
- Fly a flag correctly. Yes, there is flag etiquette!
- Ask a vet about their service. Show interest in them and the service they provide for you.
- Write a letter to encourage our vets through A Million Thanks and Soldiers’ Angels
- Don’t confuse Veterans Day with Memorial Day.
- Visit a VA hospital. We caroled at a VA hospital once and it was a lot of fun!
- Teach your kids and their friends the importance of this holiday.
Veterans Day Facts
I’m a facts girl so I thought it important to include some Veterans Day facts, It’s a little easier to celebrate a holiday when you know more about it.
- The first Veterans Day was celebrated on November 11, 1919, marking the one year anniversary of the end of World War 1.
- It was originally called Armistice Day. President Eisenhower changed the name to Veterans Day in 1954.
- November 11th became a national holiday in 1938.
- Great Britain, France, Australia, and Canada also commemorate the veterans of World War 1 and World War 2 on or around November 11.
- Veterans Day is celebrated to honor all veterans who have served in war or peace, living or not.
- Veterans Day and Memorial Day are not the same. Memorial Day is to remember those who lost their lives in service. Veterans Day honors ALL veterans, both here and gone.
Thank You For Serving Our Country Quotes
Often times we want to express gratitude by thanking veterans for their service, but don’t really know what to say. I’ve hunted down a list of “thank you for serving our country quotes” for you to put in cards, on social media, etc.
“Happy Veterans Day to our soldiers, both past and present. We owe you our thanks, but more than that, we owe you our freedom.”
“Veterans Day is a good time to remember that our freedom isn’t guaranteed. It is protected by the men and women of our Armed Forces. To those who secure our way of life…thank you!!
“The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” – Minot J Savage
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Winston Churchill
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Joseph Campbell
Thanking Veterans for Their Service is An Act of Gratitude
On this Veteran’s Day, let’s remember to honor those who work hard to keep our country safe!
Do you have any veterans in your family? Are you a military family yourself? What would you add to the theme of thanking veterans for their service? I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments below!
Thank you for reminding us of the importance of honoring veterans as well as giving us tips on ways to do that!
Thank you for reading! I’m glad you found the tips helpful!
These are great ways to celebrate and honor vets, Heather. I like the idea of caroling at a VA hospital! Thanks to you for sharing your heart and to and to LeeAnn for sharing this important post with us all!
Caroling was so much fun! It was not hard to get a group together either. Many people want to reach out but they aren’t sure how to go about it.
This is great information. Such a well-done post. I was sitting here writing out my script for my podcast to pray for Veterans and you have given me some great inspiration and information. My dad served in the army and one of my brothers is a Marine. Thank you for sharing. Have a wonderful week and God bless you and yours.
So glad you stopped by! It fills my heart with pride when I have the opportunity to talk about the veterans in my family. I’m sure you feel the same. Perhaps the best thing we can do is tell them that, not only on Veterans Day, but throughout the year!
There is so much to love about this post! Thank you so much for writing it, and your background in a military family gives an added boost of authenticity! Thanks for including how to correctly fly our flag ( I do!) and the ideas for care packages and letters. I’ve gotten away from that now that my son is no longer active duty, but I want to pick it back up again.
I went through the four websites listed here with my kids and they love the idea of both writing letters and putting together care packages. I am proud of the veterans in my family (and all others that serve our country) and I’m thankful that we can do something together to show them our support.
I love how you are so passionate about supporting our Veterans! My younger brothers were both in the service and I am forever grateful for all of our men and women who have served. Thank you for the thorough list of ways we can show our support for them. Soldiers Angels is a wonderful organization to get involved with!
Thank you for reading! I am excited to participate in Soldiers Angels with my kids this year. They were very enthusiastic when I told them about the program.
Heather – as always you touched my heart with your blog. Not only are you an Air Force kid, the wife of a Marine but this mother-in-law is a Navy Vet. I appreciate your spelling out the facts, especially that Memorial Day and Veterans Day are not the same. It’s hard to get people to understand Memorial Day is a day to remember those who didn’t make it home and Veterans Day, as you wrote, is for all Veterans.
Big hugs to you Doreen! Thank you for your service to our country and your support for our family!
Thank you for this wonderful post. My first husband was a Vietnam veteran and those men helped America realize how much the “thank you’s” are needed. For them it was missing and now it has returned. Those who serve deserve our gratitude every day.
Yes! I am too young to have experienced the Vietnam Vets but my mom mentioned many times over the years how that can never happen again. She helped instill a sense of pride in our military family and I am thankful that she did!
Honoring our military is so important. I don’t think those who don’t know anyone in the military really realizes the cost to serve. I met my husband while he was an active duty Marine and our son went Air Force. Now he serves in the Air Guard. Both our Dads served, not to mention other family members. I am overly thankful for our military. One thing I would like to add is, pray for our military as well as their families because they really need your prayers.
Wonderful to hear your pride for the veterans in your family! It’s families like ours that need to remind and share with those who don’t have the same exposure.