Thursday, November 11, 2010

Honoring Veterans

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library are closed in today in honor of Veterans Day.
In September the Citizens Bank and Trust in Chillicothe, Missouri sponsored a Citizens Patriot Flight to Washington D.C. for twenty-one World War II veterans.  My sister Patti Leatherman got to assist, and she shared with me the details of the day. When the group (all men on this trip) gathered, one old soldier recognized another that he had not seen since the war. The trip coordinator, Betty Preston Steele, arranged a 'mail call' for all the men, with letters written by local grade-school students, family and friends.  The GI's visited The National WWII Memorial where one gentleman was able to find the name of his co-pilot who had died in the war. For these honorees, special permission was granted to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  It was handmade by Betty Preston Steele and one man from each of the four services - Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force - participated in laying the wreath.  Our father (Patti's and mine) was a GI and would have just loved a trip like this, so it was a deeply emotional day for Patti as well as the veterans. I hope this type of recognition continues through the years for all veterans. If you have a vet in your life, now is the perfect time to express your appreciation.  If you know them really well, hug a vet today!
About Iowa World War II Veterans

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very moving