Thomas H. Trainer, a Gardner Newman Middle School student, was a district, state and national winner in the Veterans of Foreign Wars “Patriot’s Pen” essay contest.

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check that was made payable to the United States of America, for an amount of “up to and including his life.” That is honor, and there are too many people in this country who no longer understand it

These influential words have caused me to question my own understanding of honor and how we honor those around us who are so deserving.

What exactly is honor? According to Webster’s Dictionary, honor is “a source of credit or distinction.” There are many ways in which we honor people, and for many different reasons. I believe one of the most important groups of people we should honor is our veterans.

We honor veterans for always putting others before themselves. We also honor them for making this country safe and free. Look at other countries such as Iraq and North Korea. They are run by dictators, and the people there have no civil rights. Yet, it is because of our veterans that we are able to have the freedoms and privileges we enjoy in our country.

Veterans are everyday people. However, they have done something far more important and more meaningful than one could imagine Veterans have fought. They have struggled. Veterans have a first-hand knowledge of death, dying, and destruction. In the Vietnam War along, there were 58,169 casualties. They have done all of this and more, and they have done it for you and me.

In the words of Elmer Davis, “This nation will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave.” Veterans are brave. They are brave because it is what they know and believe.

I think a veteran has touched all of our lives in one way or another. Many of us have loved ones who have fought or who are fighting for our country. They are our neighbors, grandparents, parents, bothers, or even sisters.

What better way to show our thanks and devotion than by honoring veterans? Veterans should indeed be honored, but not just one day a year. Veterans should be honored 365 days a year for the sacrifices they have made so that we can live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.