Going Beyond Thank You

On Veterans Day, we often say “thank you for your service” to veterans and yes, it is a simple yet powerful moment of connection to express much-deserved gratitude.

"This year, I am challenging myself to go beyond thank you and to get closer to why we are thanking them. "

This requires encouraging them to tell their stories as a way of honoring the strength and resilience built through military service. 

I have the privilege of getting proximate to the “why” with my husband, who served in the U.S. Army for eight years. He joined me last week at Delta’s annual veterans’ celebration led by our Tech Ops team and Veterans Business Resource Group. There, we marveled at the historic UH-1Y Venom, F-16s and a pair of F-15 Eagles – but more importantly, we reveled in hearing the stories of so many Delta veterans and their family members. We learned of their perseverance, commitment and pride in even the most seemingly thankless moments of their military journeys.

With more than 10,000 veterans at Delta, we count it an honor to create more opportunities for veterans to apply the skills developed through service to the next part of their career journey.  

So, I’d like to honor Veterans Day – and encourage all of us to show our appreciation for veterans by leaning into why -- not just on one day, but always.  #HappyVeteransDay