Color Me November Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day here in the USA - an important day on which we honor and remember those who have served/are serving to protect our freedoms.

My photography class prompt for this week was to use a crate. To combine that prompt with a post for Veterans Day I decided to use the American flag held in an iconic symbol, the Coca Cola bottle, inside a Canada Dry crate to reflect the close friendship between the two countries. Canada marks this day as Remembrance Day.

 The veteran our family is thinking about today is my father-in-law Edward Carl Emmer.  He served proudly in the 101st Airborne Division as a troop carrier piloting missions beginning in Africa with Operation Torch and later including a June 6th 1944 mission over the Normandy beaches to drop firstly troops and secondly cargo. Later missions included the attack on Arnheim, the Battle of the Bulge and the Crossing of the Rhine.

 Ed returned safely to the USA at the conclusion of the war on board the famed ocean liner, the Queen Mary, which had also been called to service.

We would also like to highlight the current service of our friend Tripp Phillips, a special operations combat medic in the 2nd Special Forces Unit. Sergeant Phillips is an Airborne Ranger who has served two extended combat deployments to Afghanistan in his seven years of active service.

On this beautiful Fall Day, Veterans Day 2015, we are thankful for the service of all our military personnel, both past and present. Their commitment allows us to live in "the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave".