Veterans Day :: Honoring ALL Who Served
Happy Veterans Day :) I just hopped on an Instagram Live (you can view it here) I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about some of the lesser known stories of veterans in U.S. history as well as talk about ways to honor those who are currently serving. All the people and events I mentioned can be found below!
Huge thank you to my friend Taylor Hester for always providing awesome inside info and your perseverance as a military spouse (and thanks Ethan for your service!) Thanks to Dr. Tiffany Tajiri-episode 97- who shared so much about what life is like for our active duty and veterans, and Captain Jeff Morris-episode 42- for sharing his story in the trenches and in his healing journey, and thank you BOTH for you service.
I hope this conversation allows you to learn about stories of veterans who you may not have known about before, and also gives you the space to give honor to these men and women, while also holding feelings of longing for more from your country at the same time.
*To support active duty service members, here are some organizations and ways to show support today:
-financially contribute to organizations that directly support troops such as: Horses for Heroes, Til Valhalla Project, Legion 8, Wounded Warriors Project, Native Americans Veterans Assistance, the USO.
-Donate time and resources to the USO
-Send care packages to deployed units
-Check on family members of deployed service members. (Offer kid watching, meals, general support!)
-If you know a vet who is struggling, offer to watch kids so that they can attend counseling appointments.
-Write to your congressman to advocate for better mental health options for our veterans.
—- In loving memory of Sorin Stanescu
*References:
The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry- the first all African American regiment
-The movie “Glory”
The 13th infantry organized here in Nashville United States Color Troop in the civil war
— The incredible USCT soldier statue in Franklin, TN
—More about USCT
Tuskegee Airmen the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps
-The Tuskegee Airmen movie (There are tons of books as well)
-also… if you’d like your mind blown about how an area can have such an amazing story AND a horrible story of racism… read about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.
Navajo Code Talkers, created codes that helped win WWII
-The Red Road
-A children’s book that shares their story: Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code
-I read an interesting article this morning from the Smithsonian about the hard tension of the indigenous peoples that love the land of turtle island, but they also have deep wounds with the US itself. Its really an extraordinary read
Second Class Doris “Dorie” Miller -a messman on Pearl Harbor, saved so many lives, and was the first African American to receive the navy cross. The incredible article I linked is about his journey and how it fought racism in the Navy.
Marcelino Serna- He was the first Hispanic American to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. The linked article shares many other notable Hispanic American veterans!
Maj. Della H. Haney, Army Nurse Corps, first African American chief nurse commissioned as a lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. Maj. Raney was one of the approximately 500 black nurses that served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II.
Lt.Gen. Stayce D. Harris currently serves as the Inspector General of the Air Force
These are the first women of each military service: twin sisters Genevieve and Lucille Baker, and Myrtle Hazard, U.S. Coast Guard; Deborah Sampson, U.S. Army; Opha May Johnson, Marine Corps; Esther McGowin Blake, U.S. Air Force; Loretta Walsh, U.S. Navy (Defense Department)
To read a fictionalized account about the first spy ring in America that began during the Revolutionary War and is based on true events (and many involved women!), check out Roseanna M White’s Culper Ring series.
Never stop learning, because history still has many stories to tell.
xo,
Em