A lot of people, including myself, already do show respect for veterans. But some people haven’t realized how important these men and women are. 

You should respect veterans because they keep all of us safe. They leave their family knowing they might not come back. They do it because they love our country and they want to keep us safe even if it means losing their lives. If it weren’t for them, the United States would be very different. Some people think it’s bad now, but it would be a lot worse if our veterans and our active servicemen and women didn’t protect us.

Another reason they deserve respect is that a lot of veterans and servicemen and women don’t come back. Some of them do return but have life-changing injuries or disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Veterans do a lot for us, and it couldn’t hurt to thank them and just notice them. That could change someone’s day in a good way — you can just acknowledge them and say thank you. 

Malachi Gagnon

Grade 8