Pharmacy students honor veterans

Patriotic letters from UNMC College of Pharmacy students fill a hallway at the Thomas Fitzgerald Veterans’ Home in Omaha.

Members of the UNMC Academy of Student Pharmacists (ASP) spent Monday writing nearly 50 letters thanking the home’s veterans for their military service and sacrifice. The letters are on display today as the nation honors America’s 25 million living veterans on this 51st annual Veterans Day.

“We wanted to thank them for their sacrifice and hardship,” said UNMC student Sarah Martin, who organized the project. “It was a really neat experience. Veterans really appreciate when people take time to thank them for the service.”

More on Veterans Day Veterans Day takes place each year on Nov. 11 because in 1918 on 11 a.m. of that day, World War I ended. That was the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month. The first Veterans Day parade, organized by Raymond Weeks in Birmingham, Ala., was held in 1947 to honor “all of America’s veterans for their loyal service.” In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming Nov. 11 as Veterans Day. In 1968, Congress moved Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. However, it became apparent that the Nov. 11 date was historically signficiant to many Americans, so Congress formally returned the observance of Veterans Day to its traditional date in 1978.

Patty Howe, volunteer services coordinator at the Thomas Fitzgerald Veterans’ Home at 156th and Maple Streets, praised the students’ initiative. “It’s nice to have outside gratitude come into our home for our veterans to see this,” she said. “They forget that the community supports them and that they are appreciated.”

The “Dear Veteran” letters, handwritten on red, white and blue stationary, “are very inspirational, touching and heartfelt,” Howe said. “You can tell they appreciate our veterans.”

On stationary bordered by stars, Anna wrote: “Dear Veteran: As each passing year takes away old friends, as the war you fought slowly passes out of living memory and into the history textbooks, be assured that your sacrifices are still remembered.”

Lindy thanked the veterans for preserving her safety and freedom. “Dear Veteran, I wanted you to know how precious your gift of service is to this entire nation. Your sacrifice was incredible and my generation – along with those to come – is reaping the benefits,” she wrote.

In another letter, Ann shared how her father served in Vietnam and her grandfather in World War II. “I have a great respect for them and anyone else willing to make such a commitment to so many people,” she wrote.

The majority of the 100 veterans at the Thomas Fitzgerald Veterans’ Home represent World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Howe said. Of those, 83 are men and 17 are women (including 13 spouses of veterans).

ASP, the largest student organization at the UNMC College of Pharmacy, organizes a philanthropy project each month. Recent projects have included reverse trick or treating with patients at The Nebraska Medical Center, working with Habitat for Humanity, and a pen pal project with residents at Lindenwood Nursing Home in Omaha.