Veterans Day 2012: Honor the Heroes

On Sunday, Nov. 11, we celebrate Veterans Day, a national holiday to pay tribute to our military personnel serving or who have served in the armed conflicts.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day (Veterans Day) for November 11, 1919 by saying, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with lots of pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”

On Sunday at Callanwole Fine Arts Center, located at 980 Briarcliff Road, the Southern Order of Storytellers will present the first annual “Veterans Expressing Their Stories” or V.E.T.S. storytelling program. The 3 p.m. event event is free and will be held in the historic Callanwolde mansion.

Storytelling connects all of us, so bring your families, children and grandchildren to hear veterans from all branches of service over the past 70 years as they share their experiences through storytelling. Emcee for the program is John Beavin, storyteller and veteran. For more information or if you are a veteran interested in sharing your story, contact Anne Wallace at Anne50W@aol.com or 770-460-9946.

Also, a number of local businesses are saluting veterans, military service men and women, and their families this Veterans Day by offering local discounts, specials and promotions. Here's a guide to specials in and around Midtown.

Also, take note that City of Atlanta offices will be closed on Monday, Nov. 12 in observance of Veterans Day. Solid Waste Service collections will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week as follows:

- Monday collections will occur on Tuesday
- Tuesday collections will occur on Wednesday
- Wednesday Collections will occur on Thursday
- Thursday collections will occur on Friday

We're inviting military personnel from Midtown to submit photos of their service with a short caption. If you want to add more to the caption, just share in the comments section. We look forward to your participation as we honor our nation's veterans.

How are you observing Veterans Day?