Larson Design Group Salutes Veterans

A Larson Design Group employee sent the following email this morning, to remind us all of the importance of respecting those who serve our country. Although the employee wishes to remain anonymous, we wanted to share his words, and add our own thank you to veterans.

Thank You.

My father, father-in-law and most of my uncles served in the military in their youth. That’s just what they did in that generation, and most of them won’t tell you if you don’t ask. I graduated high school in 1975 which was the end of the Vietnam War, so they didn’t need me. When the Middle East erupted into a war, I was too old to serve.

So to all those who have served, I thank you for your service to our country, and for your service that has protected my family. For those of you who have family members who have served or are currently serving – thanks to you for sharing your family with us and thank you for all you go through as a military family. I would like you to know that my family honors you and your family for giving back to this country and for allowing my family to live in peace and enjoy our blessed way of life here in the USA.

When I was younger, we always had Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house, and she always had at least four young servicemen at her house all day on Thanksgiving. These were young men stuck at one of the training bases here in San Antonio who would have eaten their Thanksgiving meals in a mess hall; that just didn’t seem right to her. They had the run of the house; they ate first, they picked the football games we watched, and they all had a comfy bed for a nap before they went back to the barracks. I guess she showed me how to do thank you rather than just say thank you.

Yesterday we taught our grandchildren what a veteran is and why they are special. Now they understand why my wife and I go out of our way to shake the hands of those older gentlemen we see wearing ball caps with their unit crest on the front. My children and grandchildren have seen me buy many meals over the past years. For at least the past 20 years, whenever I see a man or woman in uniform in a restaurant that I’m at, I go and personally thank them for their service and ask if they would allow me the honor of buying their meal as a small gesture of my family’s gratitude for their service to our country and for my family. Then I ask their waitress to bring me their food bill and to add a dessert for them also. I live in San Antonio where there are 3 military bases (used to be 4), so we buy a lot of meals.

So to all at LDG who have served our country, and to all those who are a military family, my family thanks you, and we pray that you have a blessed year.