Veterans Day Appreciation

  • Published
  • By Airman Jerilyn Quintanilla
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  I never appreciated Veterans Day growing up. I have had family members serve in the military. My grandfather was in the Navy, my father and brother both served in the Army and I have countless aunts, uncles and cousins who've donned a military uniform; but I still never knew what I was supposed to do, or better yet, feel every year when this day came around.

I joined the Air Force just under a year ago after growing up in Guam and if you ask any military member what they thought of Veterans Day, I have a hunch that they'd say they never understood it until they put the uniform on and took that oath. But I am not one of these people. After I joined the Air Force and took that oath to support and defend our country I had a greater sense of pride in America and in the military, but not so much for our veterans or Veterans Day. That is until this year.

This year I had the privilege of meeting veterans from all branches of service and some of their spouses at Broadway Proper, a Tucson retirement community. Each person I talked to had nothing but good things to say about the military. It seemed unanimous that their times in the military were the best years of their lives. Dan, a former pilot, served in World War II and got out as a first lieutenant shortly after serving three years in the Air Force. Although his time was brief, he beamed with pride and spoke highly of his service and of our country. This was the consensus with everyone I spoke to.

You always hear the line "we couldn't do what we do if it weren't for all those who came before us" or at least some variation of it, and I knew it was true. And now I've met some of the people who made that possible. And when I hear those words again I can now put a face to it. I can think of Dan, the pilot, and Jon, a member of a Naval air crew, who truly made today possible. Because of these two men and their stories I have a greater respect for veterans and for Veterans Day, a day in which we can pay due respect to those who came before us and made all that we do now, possible.