Today, being Veteran’s Day, Tampa Bay Online dedicated its lead story position on its homepage to an open, online forum for site visitors to write stories and post pictures describing connections to and the meaning of Veteran’s Day. The site received over thirty entries, ranging from poems about the sacrifices soldiers make to an audio slideshow of soldiers in action. Other submitted personal stories of family members leaving for or returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Many used the forum to extend a message of thanks.
This was the only news source I saw today that offered an online forum for site visitors. The New York Times posted a story about the president giving a eulogy at Fort Hood, and Boston.com offered stories on local veterans. But TBO.com’s forum was interactive and invited conversation on a particularly weighty Veteran’s Day (considering the current debate about sending more troops to Afghanistan and considering the recent tragedy at Fort Hood army base.)
In the morning, Veteran’s Day messages filled Twitter’s live feed, showcasing messages of gratitude. That’s where we found this touching video of soldier returning home and surprising his son at school.
Then I found videos of soldiers returning home to their pets–a little less heart-wrenching and more heart-warming. Enjoy.
