Veteran's Day

I do realize that this post is a couple of days past Veteran's Day.  But I couldn't post about what happened on Veteran's Day before it happened, could I?  :)

Every year, the local community holds both Memorial Day and Veteran's Day parades.  Two Memorial Days ago, my grandfather was the Commander of the local American Legion.  He asked me to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" and another patriotic song of my choice at the Memorial Day parade, and I even got to ride in the Commander's car with him and my Nana during the parade!  It was so special, and I'm so glad I did it.  He was not able to attend the other parades since then.  I, however, have been asked to come back and sing in two Veteran's Day and one more Memorial Day parades since. 

This Veteran's Day was a bittersweet one for my family. My grandfather, who passed away in July, was a Sergeant in the United States Army.  He served during the Korean War.  2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the war in Korea. 

Because of this, and because of his passing, they chose to honor him at this year's parade.  They raised a flag, and it will fly in his honor until Memorial Day 2014 when the honor will be bestowed on another deserving veteran. 

We were so blessed to have Pappy in our lives.  I am so blessed to have such a close, loving family.  We all love you, Pap, and we are so proud of your service. 



This picture includes my cousins, my 2nd cousins (the little ones!), my aunts, parents, brother, one of our "adopted" family members, and an even a "cousin-in-law's" parent!  (My uncle was taking the picture.)  My Nana is in the center with the framed proclamation about Korean War Veteran's Day in her hands.