Sunday, November 11 marked an important day in the United States: Veterans Day. A day designated to remembering and thanking those who have served and are still serving in the military. Veteran’s Day has been a long-standing holiday in America as history teacher, Ric Shahin explained.

“It started out with Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War 1 and then it kind of morphed into the idea that we should honor all veterans,” Shahin said.

Many people struggle with knowing how to thank a veteran for their service, however, veteran David Daniels states that it is just nice to feel a sense of appreciation no matter how big or small.

“I get thanked a lot these days and so do a lot of soldiers,” Daniels said. “It’s awesome, we certainly don’t expect it or look for it but it’s nice to be appreciated. I think people are starting to get past it if they might not agree with the morals of the war because they understand that there are soldiers making sacrifices for their country and there’s no political agenda for soldiers.”

He also emphasized the reasons for veteran’s day and why it is significant to soldiers.

“Veteran’s day is not just important for the current generation of veteran’s but really the idea is for everybody that has served to be recognized,” Daniels said.

Biology teacher Coreen Daniels, David’s wife, has had a lot of experience with veterans. Her father, husband, brother and brother-in-laws are all serving, or have once served for the military.

“Well I grew up having my father serving in the army, so I guess that we have always had a patriotic family,” Coreen said. “Obviously we are proud to have veterans in our family but to us Veteran’s Day isn’t just another day like it is for most people.”

Veterans have to sacrifice more than just their own safety to protect the country. They also have to leave their family lives at home and sacrifice time spent with their spouses, children, parents, etc.

“We have had to be really, really flexible,” Coreen said.  “A lot of times there is a lot of added stress. He missed our son’s birth because he was away at training. This past year was a deployment and in order to have a little sense of normalcy for the kids I took the year off of work and we had a 6 foot tall cut out of him in the living room that we called ‘flat daddy.’ Just things that you wouldn’t normally see in other families are an everyday part of our lives.”

Sophomore Sarah Bishop, whose father was in the air force, has had to have a similar amount of flexibility growing up to cope with being in a military family.

“When I was younger we moved around a lot,” Bishop said. “We lived in three different states before I even turned four so it was a lot of adjusting, but now that he is no longer in the air force it doesn’t really affect us.”

However, sophomore Connor Wilson, whose father served in the military, demonstrates the prestigious benefits of serving for the country.

 “I look up to my dad quite a bit so him being in the military makes me feel proud,” Wilson said. “A lot my people respect my dad because of his service in the military. It also really helps with job opportunities. People should know veterans are important because they are giving their lives to our country.”

Bishop agrees.

“It makes me respect them more because I know from personal experience through talking to my dad how hard it was for him to be in the military,” Bishop said.

She also believes that Veteran’s Day is an important day for the country to recognize.

 “I think Veteran’s Day helps us remember what they did for our country and how they are soldiers still overseas and fighting to serve America,” Bishop said.

Although Veteran’s Day may be over, it is never too late to thank a soldier and show appreciation for what they have done to protect America and the country’s freedom.