What is a veteran (for kids)? (support, father-in-law, son, grandfather)

[DressageGirl]

Ok I know weird question, seems like it would be obvious. But my son is doing a project in school this week and they want the names and title of a family member that is a veteran. I always thought of a veteran as someone that either is in the military or has been. My son is insisting that it can only be someone that was in the military, they can't currently be in the military. My first thought was my brother in law who is active duty navy right now, I mean he is a veteran, right? So it got me thinking, is it someone that is or has been in the military or just someone that has been, as in they have retired from the military?

Edited to ad: The american heritage dictionary has a veteran as someone that has served in the armed forces.

[JustJulia]

Merriam Webster also defines a veteran as someone who used to do a particular occupation (a veteran teacher is a former teacher, perhaps one who taught for a long time). Therefore, a veteran would be a former soldier. Dictionary.com says a vet is a current or former soldier.

November 11 used to be called Armistice Day, the celebration of the end of World War 1, and none of those soldiers are still in active duty. I don't know whether Veterans Day is a new holiday or a renaming of Armistice Day. Armistice Day was originally a day to celebrate world peace, while Memorial Day was enacted to honor fallen soldiers. Veterans Day, I believe, is the expansion of Armistice Day to encompass all wars, and all soldiers are usually honored.

I don't know whether VA loans are available to current soldiers, do you?

More information about Veterans Day:

http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

[JustJulia]

They have a kids' site, too.

VA KIDS

From there (emphasis mine):

Who is a Veteran? Veterans are people who served in the military (U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard) in times of war or peace.


That's still a bit ambiguous, though. If you are currently a soldier and served in the military yesterday, are you therefore a veteran?

[DressageGirl]

See how confused I am. I thought all along I knew exactly what a veteran was. We have my fatherinlaw, he served in the marine reserves for a few years when he was 18 or so but not very long, then we have my brother in law that has been in the Navy for about 15 years so far, then I have both of my grandfathers who served in WWII in the Royal Army and Airforce (England) but my son never knew either of them. They are the most obvious pick but my son didn't know them so he is going to have a hard time relating, and they were English and it would be nice to honor an american soldier.

Which one would be the better pick?

[JustJulia]

Originally Posted by DressageGirl

See how confused I am. I thought all along I knew exactly what a veteran was. We have my fatherinlaw, he served in the marine reserves for a few years when he was 18 or so but not very long, then we have my brother in law that has been in the Navy for about 15 years so far, then I have both of my grandfathers who served in WWII in the Royal Army and Airforce (England) but my son never knew either of them. They are the most obvious pick but my son didn't know them so he is going to have a hard time relating, and they were English and it would be nice to honor an american soldier.

Which one would be the better pick?

Can you only pick one? I'm not sure whether your father-in-law would be a better choice, because he is a former soldier, or your brother-in-law, because he has been in the military the longest. While your grandfathers' service is certainly commendable, I would also pick a American soldier for this project.

If the project is not due tomorrow, perhaps your son should ask his teacher for clarification. Surely you are not the only family with questions, and then the teacher can give some guidance.

[goodmanm]

I don't think you could go wrong in honoring all of them, whether your son knew them or not, they are all family.

They all either pledged to fight, or fought for, their country.

Although there doesn't seem to be one definition for who should be considered a veteran I like this one: "A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America," for an amount of "up to and including my life." from Veteran Benefits

Good luck with the project,

Goodmanm, USAF, retired

[DressageGirl]

We ended up putting both my father in law and my grandfather (so my son's grandfather and maternal great-grandfather). So we shall see what they do with that tomorrow for the veteran's day project. I figured that even though my grandfather was English, we all fought on the same side during that war!

[lisdol]

Originally Posted by JustJulia

I don't know whether VA loans are available to current soldiers, do you?

Yes, they are. We bought our first house with a VA loan.

Also, the GI bill is a VA program but active duty can use it (and can transfer benefits to dependents under the new post 9/11 GI Bill).

Back to the original question, I don't know. My husband is currently active duty but has been deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the past so I do consider him a veteran of that war, even though he is still active duty. I don't know if he technically is or not?

[sskkc]

I don't know whether VA loans are available to current soldiers, do you?

Yes, they can.

When my ds was in kindergarten and his class did this project, we specified which of the names were active duty - the vet's names were mounted on red, white or blue paper and active duty were mounted on gold paper.

For the purposes of Veteran's Day- no, active duty servicemembers are not considered "Veterans", they usually have their own designation (and holiday)... for instance Applebee's is serving free meals to "Veterans and Active Duty military"

[Houston3]

I'm a Veteran and was never called a Veteran until I was discharged from the Army...Before that I was called a Soldier...


veteran |ˈvetərən; ˈvetrən|
noun
a person who has had long experience in a particular field
• a person who has served in the military : a veteran of two world wars.