Veterans Day gives us an opportunity to recognize and honor those who have sacrificed their lives serving our country. Here are few ways through which we can express our appreciation to members of the U.S. military on Veterans Day.
Attend a Veterans Day event or meet a veteran
Veterans Day events will be conducted throughout the country and you can show your appreciation by attending one of those events. Attend a parade or try to meet a veteran and ask him or her about their service. You can ask them what they did in the military and how long they served. You can ask them about their favourite moments in their service and why they chose to join the armed forces.
Display the American Flag
Veterans Day also gives us an opportunity to display the U.S. flag and show our patriotism. You can also wear a red poppy or yellow ribbon to show support for veterans as well as active duty service members.
Have a Veterans’ Day feast
You can invite a veteran or a military family and have a Veterans Day feast with them. An opportunity to honor this day and thank them for serving our country!
This day also offers us a chance to recognize the foreign-born military personnel who have served the nation. Conservatives and those against immigrants and immigration always overlook the contributions made by immigrants to the country. They also fail to remember the contributions made by immigrants who have served and are serving in the U.S. military. Throughout the history, immigrants have served in almost all branches of the U.S. military.
More than 114,601 foreign-born individuals were serving in the U.S. armed forces as of June 30, 2009, out of which 80.97 of them were naturalized U.S. citizens. U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recognizes the contributions made by the foreign-born service members and provides exceptional naturalization services to the immigrants in the U.S. military.
Every year, the agency conducts special naturalization ceremonies to mark Veterans Day and naturalizes eligible service members. Check out the Veterans Day special naturalization ceremonies that the USCIS is conducting this year and try to attend one as this is also a way to honor and celebrate this day. You can find the list of Veterans Day special naturalization ceremonies here.
Let us know how you celebrated Veterans Day by leaving your comments below!