Veterans and current members of the military will be honored in a variety of ways as the nation celebrates these soldiers on Wednesday, Nov. 11.
“This Veteran’s Day I will be coming in in my Army dress blue uniform with everything on it. My awards, my combat patch, everything. So I’m celebrating Veteran’s Day this year by being here letting people see me in my entire uniform. I will have shaved my face, so I’ll be in correct uniform in the Army regulation- just a way for me to reconnect for it…Veteran’s Day is a time to really just look at those who serve, what they sacrificed, and some of the things they’re still going through today,” instructional assistant and veteran Lloyd Byrd said.
Byrd served 22 years in the United States Army.
“It means that I put myself second for our nation. It means that I sacrificed the whole growing your hair long, the whole doing whatever I wanted to do, and put all that behind for a greater cause…,” Byrd said You see veterans everyday that are missing a leg, missing an arm and you realize, that’s what freedom cost. You have people who have veterans who are no longer with us because they died in a foreign land. That’s what freedom cost.”
Veteran’s Day, originally named Armistice Day, was a holiday to give special recognition of the end of World War 1 on Nov. 11, 1918.
Indianapolis will host a series of events honoring those who have fought for our country on Veteran’s Day. A musical prelude and Veteran’s Day Service will take place at the Indiana War Memorial, as well as a Veteran’s Day parade downtown and reception and dinner located at the Primo Banquet Hall and Conference Center. More information regarding these events can be found here.
“It’s a chance for all veterans current, previous and maybe even future veterans to come together- a sense of camaraderie. A chance to really see that we’re not alone, even though we’re a small percentage of the United States, we’re not alone and that we’re like a family.
Byrd spoke of his personal outlook on freedom we as a nation have, explaining the impact seeing other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait has had on his view of freedom. He went on to say that there is a stark contrast in the ways other countries view freedom compared to freedom in the United States, and that this freedom is a result of the military.
