Someday, when the lion lies with the lamb and neighbors everywhere love their neighbor, we humans will no longer need soldiers. But on this day I call to mind all those who died serving a greater cause; all those who witnessed the horror of war, returned home and lived their lives with grace and courage; and all those who set out today, on my behalf, to defend and protect our nation’s freedoms.
Abia Minor Pennsylvania Revolutionary War
William Rowlett Virginia Revolutionary War
John Bradford Virginia Revolutionary War
William Wills Green Virginia Revolutionary War
John Pearson Minor Pennsylvania War of 1812
Greene Dodson Virginia Civil War
Ira Sayles New York Civil War
Anderson Strickland North Carolina Civil War
George Strickland Virginia World War I
Sidney Strickland Virginia World War II
Clifford Strickland Virginia World War II
Michael Strickland Alabama Vietnam War
John Minor Pennsylvania Vietnam War
Michael Hanlon Pennsylvania Currently Serving
(my daughter’s childhood friend since Kindergarten)
On one day we stop to remember the courage and sacrifice of these Americans, and the support and perseverance of their families. Thank you.
Shoots, Roots, and Leaves 
After reading your post and others of a similar vein, I hope to honor my veterans next year. What a wonderful remembrance.
I found the exercise of gathering my family’s veterans very humbling, sobering. I hope you are able to do the same next year; I think you will find the remembrance very meaningful.