Our Soldier, Our Hero :: What Veterans Day REALLY Means

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How to Honor Our Veterans, Today and Everyday | Columbia SC Moms BlogVeterans Day is a day to pay tribute and honor to those soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. They chose to answer the call of duty to protect their fellow American citizens so that we can live in freedom.

Many do not know the hard, unfortunate facts that surround soldiers after they serve. Recent numbers reported 49,933 homeless veterans, 450,000 veterans actively seeking a job, 300,000 of the 1.7 million veterans who served in Afghanistan/ Iraq (20%) suffer from PTSD or a form of depression and 8,000 veterans sadly commit suicide every year.

There are soldiers who now are learning to adjust to a new way of life due to physical accommodations, spouses who only have the last voicemail or email from their loved one to hang onto, children who have no mother/father to eagerly welcome home and parents who experienced the one unrequested desire of burying their child.

On this Veterans Day, I personally chose to remind my soldier just how much I appreciate the sacrifice he makes for his very own family and country. He’s greater and more important than any Superman, Spiderman, Batman or Avenger.

He’s a hero to his children, his wife, his community and his country — for every year his duty has called him to serve and protect, for every field assignment that he’s had to go on, for every late night of work or days we’ve had to be apart without communication, for every Hail and Farewell or FRG meeting attended — answering the call to walk alongside him as his wife has been worth them all.

So as you partake in the festivities surrounding Veterans Day, just as my family will, I also ask that you find a way to personally thank our service members for the sacrifice that they and their families make. In addition, pause for a moment to remember those whose lives have been lost for your freedom and make a personal decision to support and pray for our soldiers beyond November 11.

Happy Veterans Day to the men and women who answered the call to protect and serve!

Our Daughter Corinne 1st tribute to her dad, Curtis for Veteran's Day
Our Daughter Corinne’s 1st tribute to her dad for Veterans Day 2012!

What are ways you can support local SC soldiers beyond Veterans Day?

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Ashley Thomas
A small town southern belle, Ashley Thomas is a native of Sandy Run, S.C., and recently relocated back home after 10 years. She is the proud Army Spouse to Maj. Curtis A. Thomas and does not take her role lightly. Her life as military spouse has allowed her to experience her fair share of moving, transitioning in between working and as an AHM, deployments, and learning of new cultures. She is a graduate of Columbia College where she attained a B.A. in Psychology and the University of Washington-MSW. Ashley’s background is in education, child welfare, and community health. She is the mother of three amazing children (Corinne 4 ½, Caleb 2 ½, and Collin 6 months) who challenge her daily to lean more on God, stretch her faith, and never stop growing. In January 2014, Ashley ventured out to start her non-profit The Hive Community Circle. She also serves as a mentor for her alma mater Columbia College. In her free time when she can grab it, Ashley enjoys spending time with her family, being pinned up on Pinterest, baking, spending time with her hubby, and fellowshipping with her girlfriends. Besides being passionate about education and social justice, Ashley is also passionate about empowering and challenging women to walk in transparency. Her hope is that through her writings, mothers will be challenged to extend love and grace first to themselves, find inspiration and a sense of belonging, laugh a little, and once started, never stop living! You can follow Ashley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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