Salute to Veterans
Today is Veterans Day, a day which seems to slide by with too little notice, unless you happen to notice that the post office is closed. I just returned last night from England, where this weekend marked their “Remembrance Day.” It seemed that everyone there – schoolchildren, waitresses, newscasters, and the queen – was wearing a commemorative red poppy, and the news channels spent hours on Sunday covering the ceremonies. Maybe we can learn something from this British pomp and circumstance, especially if it helps us to better focus on the needs of those returning from war.
As I passed through customs on my way home, I struck up a conversation with a young man who was returning from Iraq – he was coming home a month earlier than expected, with a bandaged arm and a big grin, ready to surprise his wife and three children at their door. I hope that his country gives him a welcome as warm as the one I'm sure he got from his family last night.
In honor of this young man, and all of our veterans of wars past and present, our next blog entry will be on employer’s obligations when it comes to employment of returning veterans.