This Veteran's Day has been a particularly poignant one for me.

My father, a WWII vet (Navy, in the South Pacific in the last year or so of the war) has had a tough year, with CAT scans and whatnot confirming that parts of his brain have atrophied and are probably not functional anymore. My mother, 12 years his junior, feels that this is really the beginning of the end. The last few weeks have been very tough for her.

My father would never talk about the war and now he couldn't even if he wanted to. I have never been very close to him, but I am grateful for all he has given me and for the time he dedicated to his country, which he loves.

My thoughts are with all veterans out there, everywhere.