Today is Veterans Day

On November 11, 2005, (ir)regular Aero-News correspondent, features writer, and all-around good guy Kevin R.C. "Hognose" O'Brien wrote a short and simple note on the meaning of Veterans Day to our country... and, perhaps, what it should be.


Hognose -- who has seen action in some of the crummiest parts of the world, in faithful service to the United States Army -- has a way of capturing pure emotion in relatively few words. He wrote this article quickly, almost a "throwaway" even, in the short time between the end of that year's AOPA Expo and the start of the National Business Aviation Association conference in Orlando.


Back then, I was just 11 days into my job at Aero-News, and "green" in almost every sense of the word. I'll admit that on that day in 2005, I was probably more grateful for the content to post on the site, than I actually considered the meaning of the words themselves... but I did recognize this as a special piece, which is why for every year after I made a point to repost Kevin's article on Veterans Day.


That small tradition of mine ended with the end of my tenure in Zoomland. That saddens me... but at least I may still link to it here. It's my small tribute to our veterans, and to our active soldiers. I will never know the challenges they face each and every day... but I can pause, remember, and contemplate. 

May we earn this...