Veterans+Day

toc =Student Work Page=

=Introduction= Currently, there are more than 22 million Veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces that have reintegrated back into our society. It is quite likely that one of us has a parent, grandparent, sibling or neighbor who is either a Veteran or still serving. By engaging in discussion about these crucial members of our society, we will be able to hear from and about those who help(ed) shape American history. Our hope is to encourage each other to learn more of these often unheard stories from those close to us. With everything we do today, relate it back to this overarching question:

What aspects of our history, culture, and liberties make it necessary that we recognize our Veterans? - or - Why is it necessary for us to take a day to honor Veterans?

=History and Background of Veterans Day= Raymond Weeks of Birmingham, Alabama, organized a Veterans Day parade for that city on November 11, 1947, to honor all of America's Veterans for their loyal service. Later, U.S. Representative Edward H. Rees of Kansas proposed legislation changing the name of Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor all who have served in America’s Armed Forces.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11th as Veterans Day and called upon Americans everywhere to rededicate themselves to the cause of peace. He issued a Presidential Order directing the head of the Veterans Administration, now the Department of Veterans Affairs, to form a Veterans Day National Committee to organize and oversee the national observance of Veterans Day. In 1968, Congress moved Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. However, it became apparent that the November 11th date was historically significant to a great many Americans. As a result, Congress formally returned the observance of Veterans Day to its traditional date in 1978.

The Veterans Day National Ceremony is held each year on November 11th at Arlington National Cemetery. At 11 a.m., a color guard, made up of members from each of the military services, renders honors to America's war dead during a tradition-rich ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The President or his representative places a wreath at the Tomb and a bugler sounds “Taps.” The balance of the ceremony, including a "Parade of Flags" by numerous Veterans service organizations, takes place inside the Memorial Amphitheater, adjacent to the Tomb. In addition to planning and coordinating the National Veterans Day Ceremony, the Veterans Day National Committee supports a number of Veterans Day Regional Sites.

More Resources and Videos

 * **History of Veterans Day** from the Department of Veterans Affairs
 * **Veterans Day** from Wikipedia
 * **Veterans Day from History.com - Featuring "Bet You Didn't Know: Veterans Day" video and a History of Veterans Day video**
 * **Leap of Faith: A WWII Story** //A World War II veteran shares the story of the harrowing six months he spent in German prison camps and his eventual triumphant return to the United States. At just 18 years old, Hjalmar Johansson went on his first WWII mission as a nose gunner in a B-24 bomber. When his squadron came under heavy fire, Hjalmar and the rest of the crew were forced to abandon their plane behind enemy lines with no help in sight. (courtesy History Channel) //
 * **Veterans Statistics** on the wars since WWI and the numbers of servicemen and women involved and lost as a result of that war

=Activities=

1. Make a Movie
The following is a skit/script set in a school media center where fifth-grade students have been sent to do a research project on Veterans and the Veterans Day holiday. Use it to create a short movie about who Veterans are.

If your group would prefer to adapt, modify, change, or rewrite the script in any way, that is acceptable //**as long as it is written before a camera is turned on**//.

//Setting: Table in Media Center// **Student 1**: Hey, did you bring your markers and paper?
 * __Script__**

 **Student 2**: Yes. I have everything we’ll need for our pictures and drawings.

 **Student 1**: What are we going to draw?

 **Student 2**: Silly! You know we’re here to research Veterans and the Veterans Day Holiday on November 11th.

 **Student 3**: How do I draw a Veteran? I don’t even know what it is.

 **Student 4**: A Veteran is a “who” and not a “what.” You’d better start by going to the dictionary and looking up the definition of a “Veteran.”

 **Student 3**: What do you mean a Veteran is a who?

 **Student 1**: Go look it up! We can use the definition in our project!

 **Student 3**: Is a Veteran a person?

 **Student 2**: Go look it up in the dictionary!

 **Student 3**: All right! All right! (Student 3 pages through dictionary.) Here it is: “A Veteran is a person who has served in the armed forces, an experienced soldier, especially one who served in time of war”; and, “Veterans Day is a legal holiday in the United States honoring all Veterans of the armed forces.”

 **Student 1**: See, a Veteran isn’t a “what,” it’s a person who died for our country. They’re the ones that get flags put on their graves on holidays.

 **Student 4**: No! No! No! A Veteran isn’t always someone who died in a war, or who even fought in a war at all.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 3**: She’s right. A Veteran is a man who has served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or Air Force.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 4**: Well, you’re half right.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 2**: What do you mean I’m “half right?”

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 4**: Well, women can be Veterans too. Many women have served our country in the Armed Forces in times of peace and in times of war. Women can be Veterans too.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 3**: You mean a Veteran doesn’t have to have been in a war?

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 1**: No. Just having been in the Armed Forces makes a person a Veteran.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 2**: Wow! Veterans are really special people aren’t they? I mean, if a person is in the Armed Forces and we have a war, then they have to go. Right?

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 4**: No, not really. Veterans are people who have already served, but are no longer in the Armed Forces of our country. My grandfather is a Veteran. He was in the Korean War, and my uncle Jake is a Veteran too because he was in the Navy.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 3**: You know, Veterans really are special people and they deserve to be honored with a holiday.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 1**: There are a lot of patriotic songs that honor Veterans and our country. Maybe we could include a song with our project.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 2**: I think there’s a song book over here that has all the words to patriotic songs.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 4**: Great! Let’s pick out one that everybody can sing along with.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Student 3**: Veterans Day would be a good time to remember and to thank Veterans for all they have done for us and for our country.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 50px;"> **Finale**: A patriotic song, such as The National Anthem, God Bless America, America the Beautiful, or God Bless the U.S.A., is performed by the actors or an assembled group of students. The rest of the students also may be encouraged to sing along.

//The End//

<span style="font-size: 90%; text-align: right; display: block;">Written by: Ms. Maggi Call, a Title 1 teacher at Dunleith Elementary School, Marietta City Schools, Marietta, Georgia.

2. Make a Poster
The creative talents of some of us can be enlivened by art with a purpose. A Veterans Day poster can be given to the local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars chapters. Below are examples of national poster competition winners. Some guidelines include representing all branches of the military and being racially objective. From the va.gov site: "Through the years, these posters have illustrated the rich history of our country's protectors, and remind all who see them of the accomplishments and struggles of our Veterans, past and present. From Revolutionary War battles, to an Old Guard soldier rendering a salute in a solemn ceremony, the vivid images and artwork in the posters cause us to pause and reflect in homage to those who paved the way for our freedom."


 * ~ 2015 ||~ 2014 ||~ 2013 ||~ 2012 ||~ 2011 ||
 * = [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/15poster_lowres.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/15poster_lowres.jpg"]] ||= [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday14.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday14.jpg"]] ||= [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday13.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday13.jpg"]] ||= [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday12.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday12.jpg"]] ||= [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday11.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday11.jpg"]] ||
 * ~ 2010 ||~ 2009 ||~ 2008 ||~ 2007 ||~ 2008 ||
 * = [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday10.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday10.jpg"]] ||= [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday09.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday09.jpg"]] ||= [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday08.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday08.jpg"]] ||= [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday07.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday07.jpg"]] ||= [[image:http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday06.jpg height="200" link="http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday06.jpg"]] ||

3. Write a Letter to a Disabled Vet
One of the most personal and meaningful Veterans Day activities for students is to send notes or cards to hospitalized Veterans or those living in Veterans homes. Take some time to design and send individual notes or cards, or work together as a group to design an oversized card or poster signed by all of the students in a class. The cards and posters can then be mailed in one large envelope to the nearest VA medical center or state Veterans home. Addresses for state Veterans homes and VA medical centers in your area can be found in the blue government pages of the telephone book. You can also locate a VA facility on the VA website at http://www.va.gov/landing2_locations.htm

4. Prepare an Informational Presentation
Research an aspect of Veterans Day such as its history, the ceremonies held, the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier", or any other topic related to Veterans Day. Use information provided here and elsewhere to create a presentation on what you find. Be ready to share your presentation.

=Acknowledgements= Much of the content of this page is courtesy of the 2015 Veterans Day Teacher's Guide produced and provided by the Department of Veteran's Affairs, downloaded from http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/