MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

VETERANS DAY 2011

Tomorrow, at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month of 2011, we will pause to honor America’s Veterans and celebrate their contributions to our way of life. Few have given more to our Nation than the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces in peace and in war.

Generation after generation—from Bunker Hill and Bennington to Baghdad and Abbottabad—protected, defended, and preserved the principles and ideals that define our democracy. Across that remarkable sweep of history, today’s America was shaped at Lexington and Concord, Antietam and Gettysburg, in the skies over Midway, on the beaches of Normandy, in winter’s grip at Chosin Reservoir, in the heat of Ia Drang Valley, from the Persian Gulf into Afghanistan and Iraq by those who wore our Nation’s uniforms. Over twenty-two million living Veterans today embody our exceptional character and values as a people—each a line in our Nation’s history, but together many chapters towards today’s future.

The Department of Veterans Affairs fulfills its obligation to serve Veterans, their families, and survivors of the fallen by living a set of core values defining who we are as an organization: Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence—I CARE. Veterans trust that we will live these values, every day, in our medical facilities, our benefits offices, and our national cemeteries. And VA is committed to serving them. We are privileged to provide the very best in compassionate and quality care and services, delivered by our more than 300,000 employees.

As we honor and celebrate the contributions of all of our Nation’s Veterans, we take special pride in those Veterans who work here at VA—over 100,000 of us—bringing to our mission the skills, knowledge, attributes, experiences, and unwavering commitment to the well-being of our fellow Veterans. Take a moment and visit VA’s Flicker site to see our photographs and snapshots from earlier times in uniform. You can access those photos today at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/VeteransAffairs/sets/72157627830104759/

I am privileged to join all my VA colleagues in saluting the service and honoring the sacrifices of the special men and women who walk the halls of our hospitals and clinics, offices and Vet Centers each day. God bless our Veterans. And may God continue to bless this wonderful country of ours.


Eric K. Shinseki

I wanted to drop a quick message on and pass along discounts that have been found for the 2011 Veteran's Day.  Hopefully some of you will be able to take advantage of these great offers provided in tribute to your service! (Full List: http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/11/veterans-day-discounts-and-freebies-2012/ )

Restaurants

Abuelo’s Mexican Food - Abuelo’s offerings vary by region, be sure to call ahead to see what the discounts or freebies are included.

Applebees - All veterans and active duty military eat free from a limited menu at Applebee’s on Veterans Day.

Chili’s — Veterans and active duty dine for free from a special limited six item menu on Veterans Day.

Golden Corral — Golden Corral Restaurants’ Military Appreciation Monday free dinner will be available on November 15, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Military retirees, veterans, active duty, National Guard and Reserves are all welcome.

Hooters — All Veterans and active duty eat free. The free entrees must be selected from a special Veterans Day menu.

Krispy Kreme – All active-duty, retirees & veterans get a free doughnut on Veterans Day. Be sure to call ahead to verify your local Krispy Kreme is par-ticipating.

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants — Participating McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants offer a complimentary entree to vets from a special menu on a space available basis, online reservations are highly recommended.

Outback Steakhouse — Veterans and active-duty military get a complimen-tary Bloomin’ Onion and non-alcoholic beverage on Veterans Day.

UNO Chicago Grill — UNO is offering a Buy One Get One free offer to Service members or Veterans with a military or veteran I.D. or in uniform or with a photo of themselves in uniform. The Veterans Day BOGO offer includes a free entree or individual pizza, with the purchase of an entree or pizza of equal or greater value.

Texas Roadhouse – Free meal from opening until 4pm. on Veterans Day. Call ahead to your local restaurant for more information.

T.G.I. Friday’s – Veterans and Service members Buy one get one free from Nov 11–14. Contact your nearest location for more details on their Veterans Day BOGO offer.

 

Retail Discounts

The Dollar General — Veterans, Service members (Active, Guard, and Reserve), and their immediate families will receive a 10-percent discount with a Veterans Day coupon. The coupon may be found in store circular ads or by asking a sales associate.

Home Depot — Offers a 10 percent discount to all Veterans during Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day.

Lowe’s — All veterans receive the 10-percent discount on Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. The offer is available in stores only and is limited to in-stock and special-order purchases of up to $5,000.

Sam’s Club — give away 36,000 collapsible Hugo Canes on Veterans Day to military veterans in need of mobility assistance. Sam’s Club will require membership for this offer, but proof of service may be necessary.

Amazon.com – Free ― Veterans Day Honor ‖ MP3 album download. The album includes 12 songs by The Bands and Ensembles of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Cabela’s Outdoor Store – Offers their employee discount to all veterans, active-duty military and reserves, law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel November 11-12. Discounts vary from 5% to 50%, depending on the item.

Build-a-Bear Workshop – Members of the armed services including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Reserve Officer Training Corps, will receive a 20% discount November 11-15 on any one transaction at Build-A-Bear Workshop. Fashion Bug – 20% off all plus-size and misses clothing purchases with a copy of military ID or spouse’s military ID.

Sports Clips Haircuts - The men’s hair salon chain is offering a free haircut to active military and veterans on Veterans Day.

Foot Locker — Veterans, Service members (Active, Guard, and Reserve), and their immediate families with a Foot Locker Veterans Advantage Card receive a 20 percent discount every day of the year. That offer is good both online and at any store location, including Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Footaction and Champs Sports — even on sale items.

Below is a poem written by Frank Montoya that I saw today and thought the its message and Frank's efforts in creating such a wonderful piece of poetry were exactly on par for this Veteran's Day 2010.  Thank you Frank for sharing such a wonderful piece of writing.  So here it is for you to enjoy as well, republished with permission.

A TRIBUTE TO ALL WHO SERVED

We stand here today to honor all who served.
To salute and to pay homage to one and all.
To those who left family, hearth and home
And proudly went to fight at their country’s call.

To those we sent to The Western Front
To the muddy trenches of World War I.
They suffered bullets and bombs and poison gas,
But they stayed “Over There” till the job was done.

To those who fearlessly fought in World War II
When our country called them up once more.
They served from Alaska to Asia to Europe and Africa.
They fought in the air, on the sea and on foreign shore.

To those we sent at the UN’s call,
When North Korea sought to take the upper hand.
That conflict extended to three long years,
In that strange and cold, relentless land.

To those that we summoned once again,
To take up arms, to take a doubtful stand
They waged an unpopular and thankless war,
As they tried to bring freedom to South Vietnam.

To those that we sent to the Persian Gulf,
Along with UN forces to free Kuwait.
And who fought in Somalia, Grenada and Panama,
In Kosovo and Bosnia, in the Balkan States.

To those who have been deployed time and time again,
Sent to battle terrorists in many a foreign land.
To those that have served and are serving yet again, today
In the mountains of Afghanistan and on Iraqi desert sand.

Let us honor those Veterans that are with us here today,
Our gallant heroes, standing among us, proud and tall;
A most heartfelt honor to the POW’s, to the MIA’s
And to those valiant souls that we sent forth... to fall.

Frank J. Montoya, CW3, USA, Retired
Poet Laureate, City of Fountain, CO