Thank You for Serving Our Country

This is a repeated post, with some minor changes, of one I published a year ago. The words may be duplicated, but my gratitude is sincere. I can't say "thank you" enough to those who gave up so much so I could live not only in freedom, but in comfort.

3D Flags

Today is the 90th anniversary of the original Armistice (Veterans) Day--the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" here in the United States. I would like to say "thank you" to the veterans and active duty personnel in my life, who have guaranteed my freedoms and the freedoms of my family and millions of others:

First my family and the family of my husband:

• *My cousin Chuck, U.S. Army and U.S. Air National Guard, veteran
• *My cousin Matt, U.S. Air Force, active duty
• *My cousin Beth's husband, Bryan, U.S. Army, active duty
• *My children's paternal grandfather, Troy, U.S. Army, veteran
• *My children's granduncle Norm, U.S. Army, veteran
• *My children's granduncle Ray, U.S. Marine Corps, veteran
• *My children's cousin, David, U.S. Air Force, veteran
• *My children's cousin-in-law, Nathan, U.S. Air Force, veteran; and U.S. Air National Guard, active duty
• *My children's step-cousin, Laura, U.S. Army, veteran
• *My children's step-cousin-in-law, John, U.S. Army, active duty

Sadly, one name that was on last year's list of living veterans has since been removed: my grand-uncle Bill, U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force, veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

My website contains a page with a list of military ancestors (and their brothers and sons) who have served from World War II back to the colonial wars. I also have a page with my children's paternal military ancestors and relatives, here. This past spring, I wrote a 43-post series on the Civil War veterans in my family, either direct ancestors of my children, or brothers of direct ancestors.

I live in Spokane, Washington which has a strong military history beginning with Ft. Spokane and Ft. George Wright (U.S. Army posts of the 1800's), continuing with Geiger Field and the Navy Depot Station in Spokane County and Farragut Naval Base in nearby North Idaho during World War II, and including Fairchild Air Force Base in the present. One cannot help but knowing active duty personnel and/or veterans in this area. I'd like to say "thank you" to the many friends and neighbors we have that are either currently serving or have served our country, including several of my children's teachers, and many of my colleagues at Spokane Public Schools. Thank you, too, to those military wives I work with, who teach all day, then go home to raise their families alone while their husbands are overseas.

And finally, although certainly not last in my thoughts, are some of my closest genea-blogging colleagues, who bring their military background and perspective to our community and to our research:

• *Family Matters and Moultrie Creek's Denise Olsen
• *GeneaBlogie's Craig Manson
• *Genealogy Reviews Online's Tim Agazio
• *Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi's Terry Thornton
• *kinnexions' Becky Wiseman

If I have forgotten anyone, I sincerely apologize (please send me a note if you notice anyone is missing).

Thank you!