Honoring Our Veterans at Anthem Veteran’s Memorial

When was the last time you participated in a Veteran’s Day program? Perhaps you attended a recent event in your community to honor and thank veterans for their service. While I usually had the day off, I did not attend Veteran’s Day activities. With a demanding career, I was always grateful to have an extra day off to run errands and catch up, so regrettably the veterans’ events were not a priority. Even though my father had served in WWII, I felt no strong connection to the veteran’s community.

But that changed when my agency began focusing on women veterans and their employment issues. We learned that too many women who served had challenges returning to their civilian lives and ended up homeless. That’s when I began to understand what it meant to be a veteran, a male or female who served in the military either at home or overseas. That is also when I starting thinking about my father, Rol Jett who had served in WWII. He was a veteran of a foreign war spending most of his service in the Pacific Region.

Yet I truly did not understand what that meant until I discovered my parents’ letters and diaries from WWII and began exploring what their lives had been like during the war years. Then it hit me. My father had been willing to sacrifice everything for his country and he did this 9,000 miles away from his home and family. His wife, my mother also did her part. She bought bonds, registered the draftees, and made do with rationed supplies. But most importantly she supported her soldier husband through her steadfast love, letters and packages. They were both veterans; he served on the battle field and she worked on the home front. That’s when I realized that they both deserved to be honored and recognized for what they had done to protect the many freedoms we enjoy today.

Fast forward to November 11, 2016 and Veteran’s Day in Anthem, Arizona. Only recently had I become aware of the many activities that Anthem did to recognize, support and honor veterans. This small community north of Phoenix has held an annual Veteran’s Day Parade for the past 12 years. Then five years ago they also built a unique and striking memorial that has gained worldwide attention. The Anthem Veteran’s Memorial consists of five pillars representing each military branch. Then at 11:11 am each November 11, a solar spotlight illuminates a glass mosaic of the Great Seal of the United States.

This was the first year I was able to attend the Veteran’s Day ceremony, and I decided to honor my parents and other veterans by volunteering to help with the event. Arriving before 8 am, the volunteers eagerly began working at their various stations. For me, the impact of volunteering was much greater than anything I had anticipated, and the true meaning of Veteran’s Day evolved through the faces, tributes and unexpected interactions I had with the people there.

My first surprise of the day came when I meet an elderly man who was wearing a cap that said WWII Veteran. Immediately I extended my hand and thanked him for his service. Then I asked him where he had served and he quickly revealed a second hat emblazoned with the words, New Guinea. “Oh, my goodness! That’s where my father served,” I said. While this 92 year old veteran had been much younger than my dad when he served, he exhibited a grit and determination about that time and place typical of those boys stationed in the jungles of the Pacific. This was a powerful and promising way to start my day…meeting a veteran who was probably in the same area where my dad served.

My volunteer role was to help staff a “Thank a Veteran” card writing station. Paper, crayons, patriotic tape and stickers were available at three long tables and throughout the morning these were filled with children and adults creating messages of gratitude for the veterans. I was inspired by a local Girl Scout troop who thoughtfully crafted their patriotic cards and adorned them with stars and stripes. Once these were completed, the girls would take them to the seating area and give one to each veteran there. Then there was a mother with several young children who helped the girls distributes the cards. I thought about the experience these children had…shaking the hand of a stranger…typically an older man and thanking him for protecting our country. They probably didn’t fully understand what protecting our country or defending our freedom meant, but they learned that day it was very important.

One of the people who came to the writing station that morning was a middle age, attractive woman who asked me about the process. I explained that she could use any of the supplies to create a special card for a veteran and that she could either leave it at the table for the children to distribute or she could give it to someone herself. After she finished designing her card, she came to me and we started talking. She said that she wished that she could give her card to her father, a Korean War veteran, but that he had recently passed away. Holding back tears, she said how much she missed him. Then I said I had also lost my dad many years ago and that I still missed him as well. She quietly confessed that she often “talked” to him and listened for his reply. I nodded my understanding and tears suddenly filled our grateful eyes. We hugged and shared an unexpected moment that morning…two strangers, the daughters of special men who had served our country. Their memories stayed with us throughout the moving ceremony that soon followed.

The thoughtfully planned ceremony was filled with many emotional moments. First it was the generational music representative of the war eras starting with WWII that brought tears to our eyes. Then there was the recognition of service members from the various branches and acknowledgement when they stood. There were few veterans from WWII, but proudly standing at attention behind us was a slightly bent man whose eyes were gleaming with his patriotic spirit. There was something about how he stood at attention with his eyes focused on the Memorial that struck me. His posture, his stanch, his demeanor all spoke volumes about his character and his devotion to his country. Veteran’s Day is about him and the millions of veterans like him. Thank you ‘unknown soldier’ for your service. Thank you for reminding me that we must never forget the brave men and women who defend and protect us every day.