New generation of veterans underscore importance of marking Veterans Day

Veterans Day has roots going back to the first World War, but the holiday has unique resonance for each generation. 

Because a smaller segment of the population served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, increasingly fewer people have direct connections to living veterans. Of the just under 100,000 veterans living in New Hampshire, according to Department of Veterans Affairs data, just more than 21,000 are younger than 50. 

As the majority of living veterans in New Hampshire served in Vietnam, according to VA data, and with so few living World War II veterans, a common image of the holiday can focus on older veteran populations. 

This year marks only the second Veterans Day celebrated since the United States withdrew from Afghanistan. The Daily Sun spoke with younger veterans from the area about what the holiday means to them and ways that people can, in particular, honor younger service people. 

For Kris Webber, a Gilford High School graduate whose family has a long military history, the holiday makes him reflect on friends who he’s lost and feel grateful for how communities honor service members of all ages. Webber graduated from West Point in 2010 and began a tour in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army in 2013.

“I’m glad we have a day and such a deliberate way to appreciate and honor veterans, and it’s really nice to be a part of that,” Webber said. “I have thoughts about friends of mine who have lost their lives, of which there are quite a few.”

Webber said it has been special to watch his children celebrate the holiday with their peers.

“I’m struck by the ability of my kids to go to school and celebrate the holiday and share that their dad is a veteran,” he said.

Sam Chapin, a Gilford native who ended his service in 2020 and now teaches social studies just outside Philadelphia, said the holiday gives him a chance to share his experience with his coworkers and students.

“It gives me reason to talk about my service and highlight the positive aspects of serving,” Chapin said. Chapin graduated from Tufts University ROTC in 2013 before serving a tour in Afghanistan in 2015 and 2016 and spending time in Iraq near the end of the Syrian conflict in 2019 and 2020.

“It’s a time to get together with fellow veterans if I can,” said Farmington native Aaron Anderson, who completed two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Anderson also marks the holiday by teaching his children about its historic roots.

Anderson, Chapin and Webber all discussed how the nature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan meant that fewer Americans had their daily lives impacted by the conflict and fewer had direct ties to someone serving there. 

“Because there’s so many fewer people who served in those wars, comparatively, a lot of people might associate Veterans Day with their grandfather or their great-grandfather,” Anderson said. 

As the average person’s direct connections to the veteran community get more distant, he continued, it becomes increasingly important for people to teach their children about the importance of the holiday and “continue its legacy.”

Webber also highlighted children and how the holiday’s traditions and importance are passed on to them as people’s relationship to the veteran community evolves.

“We still have a whole segment of folks that have spent their entire adult lives at war,” Webber said.

“Celebrations in schools,” especially as the children of active service members or veterans of recent wars age into and through the school system, Webber said, “are a great way to remind people of that.”

Chapin said the chance to share his experience on the holiday helps spread connections with a veteran to those around them. 

“Most people serve because they have a connection,” Chapin said. “In my generation, we’re more of a minority compared to past generation where it was much more common to have completed some kind of service."

All three also highlighted the importance of meaningful participation in the holiday. 

“I would say making a point to go to memorial services or Veterans Day parades, attending local veterans events mean a lot,” Anderson said. Not only does it underscore the continuing importance of the holiday, but can be a great opportunity for people to meet veterans in their communities. 

“Take a moment to reach out to a veteran,” Webber said. “You almost certainly know somebody.” He also encouraged people to volunteer with a local veterans organization. 

Chapin emphasized that for him, the most meaningful way that people can show their support is to take the time to really get to know a veteran and understand their experience. 

“I had personal reasons for joining that weren’t about applause or being singled out or celebrated,” Chapin said. “It’s not about the ‘thank you for your service’ or the ‘attaboy’ — which I feel can be superficial.”

“For me,” he continued, “what I would want others to do is to internally reflect on what it means to serve and to take the time to reach out to a veteran and to talk to them about their experience and really learn about them.”