First and foremost, a great big THANK YOU to all our veterans, their families, and to all of those who have served our great country in one way or another.

Today is Veterans Day, and as the child of parents who both served in the military, I am especially grateful to those who serve in our armed forces. Also called Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other countries, November 11th marks the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I.

The Veterans Day National Ceremony is held at 11am at Arlington National Cemetery. The ceremony includes a color guard, with representation from each of the branches of our Armed Forces. A ceremony will honor the fallen at the Tomb of the Unknowns, with another ceremony following at the Memorial Amphitheater.

Veterans Day is marked around the country with various parades, ceremonies, and tributes. How do you and your community celebrate? How do you thank your loved ones who have served?

When I was in third grade, my elementary school sponsored a Veterans Day essay contest. The winner was to read their essay at the dedication of the community Vietnam War Memorial. My sister was in the 6th grade and also in my school at the time. When the Principal announced the winner throughout the school over the PA system he said my sister's name but my classroom teacher as the sponsor. Ultimatley there was a lot of household confusion and hulabaloo over who was the rightful winner.  When things were sorted out, as fate may have it, I was the winner. Just call it my Ely Manning winning the Superbowl  moment. I'd love to find that essay again, and see what was going on in my 8-year-old head, but I'm just glad that even at that age I appreciated all that our veterans sacrificed for our country.

Much gratitude to those who have served.

Today the President and the First Lady travelled to Killeen, Texas. They met with families of the fallen and with wounded soldiers and their families at III Corps Headquarters, Fort Hood.

Afterwards, the President spoke to the entire Fort Hood community during a memorial service for the soldiers and civilians killed on November 5th:

We come together filled with sorrow for the thirteen Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war. And yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great American community. It is this fact that makes the tragedy even more painful and even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that has been left. We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers. You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.