Veteran's Day

Every year we take the time to Honor our Veterans on November 11th. As I reflected on the heritage that I enjoy and also the legacy of these Heroes I thought that it would be very appropriate to learn of the sacrifices these Men and Women made to keep our great Country safe.

This Blue Star Marker is located at Rest Stop 19 on I-475 in Bibb County, Georgia. This marker was erected by the Meadowbrook Garden Club of Macon to honor Colonel Benjamin H. Purcell of the United States Army. To learn more about this Hero please visit:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.asp?ID=105

Did you know that every Rest Stop/Area located on the Interstate Highway System within the State of Georgia has one of these plaques? Each of these plaques has a headline of:

The State of Georgia Salutes

Most of the time we are too busy attempting to reach our distinations to take the time to pause and actually read what is on these plaques.

I added up the numbers of Georgia Citizens who served us all during the last century. Here is what I learned:

Georgia Citizens Who Served: 732,373

Georgia Citizens Who Were Killed In Action (KIA): 10,655

Georgia Citizens Who Were Wounded in Action (WIA): 24,557

Georgia Citizens Who Were Former Prisioners of War (POW): 839

Georgia Citizens Who Were Missing In Action (MIA): 630

During the time frame of the Cold War the State of Georgia provided over 1,000,000 Citizens who served our United States of America. As of July 1, 1999 there were 660,900 Veterans living in Georgia.

If you checked the link provided above you discovered that Colonel Benjamine H. Purcell was a Prisoner of War during the Vietnam War. During the course of the History of the United States our Country has had 661,455 citizens were were taken prisoners during combat.

We honor these heroes by flying the POW Flag.


I appreciated the fact that the wind was strong enough today to allow me to capture the flags during my visit to this Rest Stop to obtain the pictures for this post. Did you know that by clinking on the pictures that you will obtain a larger image for you to view and to also read the detail on the plaques much easier?

As You Reflect on the importance of Veterans Day and also participate in Veterans Day activities on November 11th, please remember that we in the United States of America are most fortunate to have had these Heroes in our History so that we can enjoy life today.

Then, let us also pause and extend our Thanks and our Gratitude to those who are currently serving. Additionally, keep these Heroes and their respective families in your daily prayers.

Thank You, Veterans of the Past, Veterans of the Present, and yes the Veterans of the Future!!!

May God Continue to Bless America!!!!