Whether we helped at an event, attended a town parade or simply thanked a local Veteran for their service, we all should take pride in our servicemen and servicewomen who have served in the United States Armed Forces and the real sacrifice they made for their country. Though Veterans Day is a national holiday set aside to thank those who have worn a military uniform, I believe any day is a great day to thank them for their sacrifice that contributed to our freedoms. Every day we should thank these brave men and women who have faced grave dangers, lonely nights and a multitude of challenges so we could live in the land of the free, yes because of the brave.

So as I worked on our Veterans section for last week’s paper, asking Veterans to submit pictures of themselves during those military times, I wondered how many of them would take a walk down memory lane and would it be a pleasant trip or a sad reminder of what they have truly lost.

I remember my grandfather wasn’t one who really wanted to speak about what he went through during World War II. Yet I know he came back a very wounded man, not just physically, but emotionally. He had lost his best friend when a grenade blew up underneath him and ripped through the front of my grandfather’s body too. Though my grandfather never spoke about what he had lost, you could always see the pain in his eyes as he went to doctor his wounded legs that never healed.

So as many of us cheered our veterans during the parades, I wondered how much some had really lost. I wondered the real price and real sacrifice they had given for our freedoms.

So when I say I am grateful to our veterans, I cannot say it without a tearing up for I know personally the high price of freedom my own family members paid and I will forever be grateful to my grandfather and the men and women who served our country then and still serve our country now.