Today is Veteran's Day. I can't help but think about my family and the sacrifices my father and my uncle made. They both served during WWII. My uncle in the 10th Mountain Division, spending much of his time in the Italian Alps, and my father as a Sergeant in the 390th Bomb Group. 他是一架B-17的机尾炮手，在德国上空被击落，最后进入了地下组织。

虽然他们在同一场战争中服役，但他们有着截然不同的经历，对是否以及如何获得荣誉有着不同的看法。因此，在过去的一周里，我一直在问自己，我们如何才能最好地尊重我们的退伍军人？

我感谢军人和退伍军人的服务，在机场给他们买零食，在他们经过时微笑，在一排排国旗前感到庄严，并参加退伍军人的活动。我知道没有完美的方式，每个老兵都希望获得不同的荣誉，对一些人来说，甚至可能意味着不被授予荣誉。So, as opposed to honoring these women and men the way I think they should be honored, I decided to ask a few Veterans about Veteran's Day and how they would like to be honored. They told me there are three ways:

握手然后走开

As civilians we can never fully understand the sacrifices these women and men make and have made on our behalf, but a handshake speaks volumes.

倡导退伍军人服务

Many of our vets return home in need services ranging from assistance with re-entry, medical, mental health, education, and financial. Another way to honor our veterans is to advocate for these services to ensure they are available to these women and men upon their return. 心理健康可能是其中最大的问题——根据美国退伍军人事务部的数据，每天有20名退伍军人死于自杀。

写一封感恩

对于正在服役的退伍军人，可以考虑给他们写封信。通常考虑假期我们的退伍军人和发送包,但其他11个月。Sending soldiers letters of support throughout the year can have a big impact on them, especially those with little or no family. Knowing there are people who support them, can get them through the difficult days during their time of service.

I hope you will honor our Veterans today, but I also hope that you will honor them tomorrow as well, and next week, and next month, and next Spring. Honoring those who make such great sacrifices for us should be something we do every day.

这里有一些资源可以帮助你纪念我们的退伍军人：

支持我们的军队操作感恩士兵的天使VFW倡导国家退伍军人基金会国家联盟无家可归的退伍军人

最好的，