Continuing to Salute our Veterans During a Pandemic
Illustration by Carolyn Burt
What did Veterans Day look like before the pandemic? Before COVID-19 took over the nation, it was a day of happiness and community.
I’m a veteran of the United States Marines, and I was looking forward to my own Veterans Day traditions that I do each year. Normally, I would get together with fellow veterans and tell stories at different organizations that were offering free meals like Denny’s, Starbucks, Applebee’s, and Golden Corral. There are many reasons why I am proud and grateful to be a veteran in the United States..
Because of COVID-19, this holiday will not be celebrated as it usually is. We can’t get together, and mingle or talk because of health and safety restrictions.
We always looked forward to people saluting us and saying, “we are glad that you are a veteran.” Veterans Day this year is being celebrated through Zoom events; that is not the way to celebrate a hero. Saluting someone over a video is like sending someone a virtual hug; it’s not as comforting or as personal.
You know, big corporations take advantage of Veterans Day. I do not think that it’s right for them to have Veterans Day sales and promotions, capitalizing on what veterans stand for.
Home Depot and Lowes donate to veterans organizations year-round, but many other companies do not make these contributions, and only mention veterans during this time of year. I wish someone would do something about that. During those sales, you’re gonna hear, “we are grateful that it’s Veterans Day,” but what are people going to do for the veterans, other than enjoy a sale that uses their name? Because we cannot celebrate veterans as we used to in-person, we need to do something for the veterans instead of just talking about what needs to be done.
It’s going to be sad that veterans can’t get together, because a lot of the older veterans are not as familiar with new technology and programs like Zoom. Younger veterans may have the opportunity to enjoy celebrations online, but not older ones.
One of the most important things I’m going to say in this story is that we should not wait until Veterans Day to salute veterans -- we should celebrate veterans every day, not just on Nov. 11. Thank you.
