Veterans Day 2012: Honor the Heroes

On Sunday, Nov. 11, the nation celebrated 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, the Veteran Empowerment Organization near Southwest Atlanta, celebrated local veterans in their special way.  The VEO of Georgia accepts Homeless Veterans from the streets of Atlanta into their unique
Rehousing-to-Permanent Housing program.

"We are here to help our homeless heroes regain their dignity and become self-sufficient again," VEO website.

In addition, 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.

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 Southwest Atlanta 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?