I was looking to write about something in honor of Verteran’s Day when I stumbled across an interesting blog post at Kimberly’s Genealogy Blog (at about.com), written by Kimberly Powell.  As I was struggling with trying to figure out how to honor those in my family that served, the article presented an interesting challenge.  My goal now?  To go through the family tree research records and put together a web page of all the family members that served and share with every member of the living family.

“Every veteran looks at war differently, offering a unique perspective and memories of these important periods in world history. So for each one of you who has a veteran somewhere in your family tree (should be just about all of you), I challenge you to spend this week researching the many narratives, photos, histories and perspectives that can help you fill out that veteran’s personal story. Learn the history of any battles in which they fought. Learn what life was like at home for the family members they left behind. But most importantly of all, explore veteran oral histories - a treasure trove of feelings and personal recollections left behind by other men and women who experienced the same wars, battles, struggles and triumphs as your veteran ancestor.”

Read more at Kimberly’s Genealogy Blog at About.com 

I’d also like to recommend viewing my recent blog post entitled “Why Genealogy… A Very Moving Story“.  It contains a video interview of an initially ungrateful war vet who learns the meaning of family and their sacrifices through his family tree.