Each year in anticipation of Memorial Day and to honor and to remember those who died while serving, flags are placed standing proud in our yards and communities, flowers are purchased for the graves of our loved ones who were lost, volunteers will place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries and, yes, even during COVID-19 picnics and barbeque grills are planned to kick off the first holiday of the summer.
It’s time to honor not only family who have passed, but those who have fallen in serving our country.
Most veterans look normal, act normal and are living their lives in a normal fashion. Some, however, are not.
With memories of war forgotten some of our veterans still bear the weight of pain, the horror of loss and the atrocities of battle. Most of our veterans return home with the visible and the invisible wounds of war.
The Information Network for Canada’s veterans and their families define a Veteran — whether active duty, discharged, retired or reserve — as someone who at one time wrote a blank check made payable to Canada or, in our case, the United States for an amount “ up to and including his or her own life.”
