“Walking in the Footsteps of a Soldier”

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Veterans Day is reserved to honor, remember and thank those who sacrificed their lives fighting for our country.

Life as a U.S. military soldier is not easy. George Clark, a U.S. Navy Veteran, says, "I just wanted to do what was right." Cynthia Brown, a U.S. Air Force Veteran, says, "When you talk about things you don't normally experience, is to have an M-16 facing at you when you get on a bus just to take a ride downtown."

But as I'm told, the sacrifice was well worth it.

"You find out how resilient you are," Brown says, "You find out how you can make the best out of anything. Trust me, I did."

The transition to life after service was and is difficult for each veteran in their own way, especially for those who served in the Vietnam War.

"I always felt patriotic. I was," Clark said. "Unfortunately, in Vietnam, there was a lot of negativism when we came back to United States all the time, people would throw things at us and spit at us...That didn't matter to me because I knew what we were doing and why we were doing it."

Students at Eagle Rock Middle School got just a glimpse into this life by 'Walking in the Footsteps of a Soldier.'

"For 90 minutes the seventh graders get to experience what a life of a soldier is. Each one will get a dog tag with the information of a veteran from the last hundred years," Eagle Rock teacher Jeff Cannon said.

These students will go through a simulated version of basic training to learn about teamwork and discipline, until finding out what happened to them at the end of their service.

Their service is not forgotten," Cannon said. "And as long as I'm here (at the school), we're going to keep doing this because it's important. And we as a society, we as a community, we as a nation need to remember their service."

A simple way to honor vets this Veteran's Day is to simply say 'thank you.'

"Veterans Day is a big thank you for that. And it means a lot to me," Gene Summers, a U.S. Navy Veteran said. "These younger people and even, you know, people my own age would be like, 'Hey, thanks for what you did. We appreciate that...' Only about 1% of the people in America go in the military and protect the other 99%. So, it's pretty nice to get a 'thank you' for for doing that kind of stuff."

"When they say 'Thank you,' my response is, 'It was my honor,' and it truly was," Brown said.