Thank You For Your Service

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Are you a veteran? Thank you. This Veteran’s Day, as with each of them, it is important to take stock and appreciate those who have served our country.

These days the term “veteran” means somebody in the Armed Forces who has served in conflict. This isn’t too far from the original intent of the holiday, as it was to commemorate the ending of World War I, or The Great War as it was known at the time.

We should also acknowledge those who have served in peacetime. There are plenty of people who served in the Armed Forces for years without seeing any conflict. Those people need to be appreciated as well. They were no less ready to serve their country than those who did see conflict. Some seeing conflict despite not having signed up for such duty (I’m thinking National Guard being deployed for 18 months to Iraq).

Service is something that can be a touchy subject. Under what guise? To whom? Why? Signing up for military service can be daunting, not to mention risky. And there’s politics. Are we in conflict for the right reasons? A “just war” is a puzzling term and wanting to support those who serve but not the administration can be a trick line to walk.

There are plenty of other ways to serve. Firefighters and police officers are two of the biggest examples. Yes, they are professions, and they are not representative of service to country, but they do provide vital service to the community.

Community service might be one of the best ways to honor veterans. How? Maybe you’ve already served in the military for a few years, but that doesn’t mean you need to stop giving back. Volunteer at a charitable organization, and not just donate a couple of bucks once or twice a year.

Service can come in many forms, with service to country taking on great significance. This Veteran’s Day, I call on all dads to talk with their kids about service. Let’s take this opportunity to not only honor those who served our country, both past and present, but take it a step further and continue in a small way to carry on that mission of service. We can’t all serve our country in the Armed Forces, but we certainly can give back to our community.

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Daniel “monk” Pelfrey lives in Seattle and has 5 children. Mostly a stay at home dad he runs his own website (www.dignews.com) with news and reviews of
video games and DVDs, but also works as a crossing guard at the local elementary school. He can be bribed with chocolate and or Guinness. Just ask his wife.

About Tshaka Armstrong

Tshaka Armstrong is the husband to one awesome wife, dad to three awesome children. On any given day you may find him posting internet & tech family safety info here and on his personal blog www.digitalshepherds.com, or chatting with his tweeps when he's not dadvocating here. Join in the conversation, drop a line, share a joke and join him in encouraging each other to be awesome!