Veterans Day in the Mind of a Marine

For as long as I can remember, I have celebrated our nation's holidays with pride. Three of them stick out with honor are 4th of July, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day. Now, anyone who lives, or has lived in Babylon, has probably seen my house on 4th of July. It has been a tradition for my father since the day I was born. Never, has a 4th gone by, without my family working together to make our house the Icon of Americanism. Our national emblem is displayed every which way in a literal sea of flags from one end of the property to the next. No American can stand on that property without feeling some sort of pride for their country. Why does he do it? Simply, Pride in his country.

Memorial Day is an important day as any of the three. I remember as a child, waking up at ungodly hours of the morning, to place flags on white stones. There were hundreds, as far as the eye could see. I did not realize the significance of them until I was older. I remember marching down Main Street and seeing crowds of people standing on the sidewalk, each holding their right hand over their heart with a small American Flag in their left hand, all standing tall, standing proud. The entire weekend was full of activities that involved many different groups of people. They came from every walk of life - bikers to Boy Scouts. Everyone was there for a purpose.

Now Veterans Day is upon us once again. This is another big weekend for many people in my hometown. Once again we walk down Main Street. Men and women of all ages crowd the streets just to get a look at the masses in formation playing music with echoing sounds from the Drill teams. Fire trucks roar their defending sirens to please the crowds as they respond in a roar of applause.