Honoring Our Veterans in 2020
Veterans Day is observed annually on November 11th. It is a day set aside to honor all those who have served our country in any of its wars. Unlike Memorial Day, which is a time to remember those who gave their lives for our country, Veterans Day is, “a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.” It was initially called Armistice Day, commemorating the ceasefire ending World War I when on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, hostilities between Germany and the Allied Nations of the first world war ceased.
CFR’s Operation Home and Healing (OHH) is honoring Veterans Day by co-sponsoring a program: Kristallnacht and Veteran’s Day: A Story from the War with Ambassador John L. Withers II. Ambassador Withers will discuss his book which tells the story of his father, Lieutenant John L. Withers, who was part of an all-Black US Army truck company that played a role soon after the liberation of Dachau by caring for and housing two former inmates of Dachau during the remaining months of their deployment in Europe. You may register in advance for this webinar, which takes place on Sunday, November 8 at 07:00 PM, by clicking here.
As part of the celebration honoring Veterans, for the past five years Philadelphia has held a Veterans Day Parade on the Sunday before the holiday. This year the Virtual Philadelphia Veterans Parade & Festival will take place on Sunday, November 8 from 12:15 PM to 1:30 PM.
A video about OHH’s services for Veterans and their loved one will play during the Virtual Philadelphia Veterans Parade & Festival.
Program of Events:
Pre-Parade Kickoff, Facebook Live, 12:15 PM
2020 Veterans Parade, 6abc, 12:30 PM
Veterans Festival, Facebook Live, 1:00 PM
For more information about the parade, please visit: https://www.phillyveteransparade.org/.
Another project of note: The National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey is the home of the Center for U.S. War Veterans’ Oral Histories, an official partner of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project in Washington, DC. It is the Center’s mission to collect and preserve the memories of Veterans through recorded oral history interviews.
The interviews are recorded on DVDs and housed at the Museum’s Sea Girt location, where they are accessible to researchers and scholars. As part of its program of providing historical information to the public, the Museum posts summaries of interviews on its website.
To date, the Center’s collection contains over 600 interviews of Veterans from all branches of service including World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and other American military campaigns. Over 250 of these interviews are available online.
To access the online archives, or to participate in the program, please visit the Museum’s website: https://njmilitiamuseum.org/oralhistory.
Council for Relationships’ Operation Home and Healing (OHH) program provides services to Veterans and their loved ones. Counseling for individuals, couples, and families is provided by clinicians trained in military cultural competency. OHH partners with Headstrong to provide no cost, unlimited counseling services in the greater Philadelphia region to post-9/11 Veterans and Veterans of any era who have suffered military sexual trauma. Call 215-382-6680 ext. 1 to request a therapist trained in military cultural competency or visit: https://getheadstrong.org/get-help/ to request services from Headstrong.
In the spring 2021, OHH will offer a course on understanding military culture and behavioral health treatment for Veterans and their families through its Professional Development program. Registration for this course will open in the new year and will be open to all clinicians, social work students, and marriage and family therapist students in the area for 15 CE credits. For more information on Professional Development workshops, please visit our website: https://councilforrelationships.org/professional-education/.
Nancy Isserman, MSW, PhD is Director of Operation Home and Healing.