Veteran's Day

On Veteran's Day, my kids wrote letters to the former service members of a local VFW post here in Chicago. I told them that I would be "publishing" the three best letters online. Here are some of the most special ones. Of course I couldn't choose just three...

Dear Vererens,

My name is Haris B. I'm in 4th grade in goudy elementary school. I also go to Southeast Asian Center "Foster East." I have 2 interesting facts. One is that I have a friend who's dad was a soldier. My Mom and Dad were in a war. It was Bosnia vs. Serbia. They were Bosnians. Thank you for your service. Also thank you for protecting out country, plus for risking your lives to protect ours and keep them from harm. I have 3 questions. One, were you in a war when it was World War II. Second, were you in the war of Bosnia vs. Serbia. Final, were you in the Navy, Marines, Air force, or Foot Soldier.

Sincerely, Haris B.

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Dear To Whom it May Concern,

Hello. My name is Diem. I go to Goudy School and in the 6th grade. I really like to read interesting books. My purpose of writing this letter is because I want to thank you for your service, protecting our country, and risking your lives to save our country. I am really thankful. I was wondering when you were in war did you miss your family? Were you worried that they were in trouble? How would you communicate with your family? Did you learn some surprising things about things that happened to your family while you were gone at war? I love learning about your history. I would also like to learn about what place did you take in war? Did you get hurt? Did you have any tanks, or helicopters? Learning about what you did really makes a big impact of how I thought about the past. Thank you for your time and that you for protecting our country.

Sincerely, Diem L.

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Dear Veteran,

My name is Justin and I'm in 6th grade, and go to Goudy School. My favorite sport is soccer. My purpose of writing this letter is to thank you for serving our country. Without you I don't know what should we do. But, you're here and I repeat thank you for your support. So I would like to ask you two questions. First, were you in the war where you had to kill Osama bin Laden? Second, what force were you in? Are you in the water, air, or ground force?

Your buddy, Justin

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Dear VFW Post 3592,

Thank you for your concern. My name is Christopher Z. I go to Goudy School and daycare Asian Center. I'm in 5th grade and my teacher's name in Goudy is Mr. Le and in the Asian Center is Mrs. Stephanie. I'm in a soccer league The Gladiators and soccer is my favorite sport. I'm Spanish and my family's from Ecuador. I'm actually kind of a shy person and I like to express my feelings just to my mom and dad. I'm bad at math but I will try to do my best. Thank you for your service and helping us protect our country United States. Thank you for protecting us from the bad people and from people in Afghanistan. Thank you for risking your life for us and so we can live for ever. Did any of your friends die? Was the war scary?

Sincerely one of your American kids, Christopher Z. (Yeah, I cried when I read that...)

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Dear Veterans,

Thank you for protecting our country from enemies. I and my class Foster East have appreciated all your hard work to protect us from the outside world. My name is Kingslove and I'm a citizen of America. You have worked every minute, every second of your life and the only way I can make it up to you is by writing this letter. Thank you for everything. I am 10 years old and I am proud to be an American. How old were you when you started? What were you in the war? Were you lonely?

Sincerely, Kingslove M.

Pretty fantastic group of kids, really. I'm hoping for a response from the VFW post- my students would be SO excited.