As we have passed Veterans Day, looking forward to our week-long Thanksgiving break, it is always important to understand the importance and relevance of gratitude and grace in our community. While we may not have had the day off, Veterans Day is a vital and celebrated part of our community.
Veterans Day’s interpretations are commonly understood as a day of honor for those killed in action and respect for our military, and thus it is no doubt that the holiday is a staple of American tradition. Nevertheless, it is still important to understand this federal holiday more in depth as there are deeper perspectives to everything. Across the entire student body are roots deep in our country’s history, and while you may not know it they could be somewhere along yours as well. In light of this, Stuart Hall Junior Nico Rivera, whose father is a veteran, gave me the opportunity to interview him on the special day.
Nico’s father, Tony, served for 8 years. While he was a part of our navy, he was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. Interestingly, opposite to the name, his squadron was mainly involved in grueling 10-14 hour missions on reconnaissance aircraft. With this, including submarine systems testing, his work put him in Guam, China, the Philippines, Hawaii and the Ilyushin & Adak Islands. He even lived in Japan for some time. Thus, when I asked Mr. Rivera what Veterans Day meant to him, I knew he would have an insightful response. “Personally, it’s a time where I remember other veterans who are no longer alive, the sacrifices they made, a lot of them I know closely in the line of duty who died.” he said in reference to the people he met during his many endeavors. “I think about what others had to give. What my uncles had to go through, right out of highschool they had been enlisted. I think about them, they’re the ones who kept our country going, and that’s what I think.”
Mr. Rivera described further about his uncle’s experience, to whom he held and still holds dearly in his memory. He recalled times in which remembering their perseverance gave him determination in the situations where he needed it most. “They didn’t have the chance to goof off as a kid and were faced with world war. What so many gave to our country, I respect that, and it’s commendable.”
After listening to such a profound story, it came to me that Mr. Rivera’s account had an awe-inspiring lesson that we should all understand. He had been across places far and wide, dangerous and peaceful, experiencing culture and traditions in full view. There was no sugarcoating to what he was exposed to, which many times he wished he could look away and retreat, but his mission and bravery put him back on track. But, among all these experiences, he found hope and light in the encounters that came with it all. An opportunistic view of what he was met with not just because of his contracts salary, but because he had pride and ambition to strive for a better future. Like Mr. Rivera’s recollection of serving, as with millions of other veterans, the common goal of protection and betterment of the future is one that strongly unifies our country.
Afterall, we should all look into ourselves and ask where we are doing our part to fulfill that goal. While we may understand the concept in our classes, our service hours and donations events may say a lot, it is on Veterans Day particularly that many may glance over the event without an informed regard to how those who serve tie in. To honor and give thanks to the people who put their efforts on the frontline of our forces is the least we can do. Not only for all those who fought and explored, defied then invented and ultimately helped our cause, but those who are currently enlisted with everything our forces comprise of that is holding our country together. At last, it is that act of respect that we take the time to recognize Veterans Day where we can see the beauty and importance of honor each November 11th.