Jose Luis Magana / AP
Police officer Terry Fitzgerald of Portland, Maine, carries wreaths as he helps lay holiday wreaths at graves at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Dec. 15, during Wreaths Across America Day.
Wreaths Across America was started in 1992 at Arlington National Cemetery by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester and has expanded to hundreds of veterans' cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.
John Moore / Getty Images
Pearl Harbor survivor Aaron Chabin, 89, attends a ceremony commemorating the 71st anniversary of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor in New York City, Dec. 7, 2012. World War II veterans from the New York metropolitan area participated in a wreath-laying ceremony next to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.
Bruce Lipsky / AP
Pearl Harbor survivor Ed Kmiec, 95, salutes upon departing the USS De Wert after a ceremony remembering the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor aboard the USS De Wert at the Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 7.
John Moore / Getty Images
Catholic War Veterans New York State Commander James Mullarkey plays "Taps" during a ceremony commemorating the 71st anniversary of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor in New York City, Dec. 7.
Kent Nishimura / Getty Images
Pearl Harbor survivors Michael Ganitch, far left, of California and Robert McCoy, center, of Hawaii talk during the 71st Annual Memorial Ceremony commemorating the attacks on Pearl Harbor at the Pacific National Monument in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Dec. 7.
Hugh Gentry / Reuters
The USS Michael Murphy passes the USS Arizona Memorial during the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii, Dec. 7.
NBC's George Lewis reports.
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Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
Retired Fusilier Sid Gibbons stands outside Parliament during a protest in London on Oct. 18.
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
Fusiliers stand outside Parliament during a protest in London on Oct. 18.
Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Veterans from The Second Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers march past Parliament on Oct. 18.
More stories of keeping British history alive on PhotoBlog:
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
Fusiliers gather in front of a war memorial before marching towards Parliament in London on Oct. 18.
More military-related stories on PhotoBlog
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Ann Curry
You can tell just by looking into their faces that they have confronted their fears of death, sometimes again and again. Something in their expressions reveals courage, focus, love of country and I think the greatness one hopes is possible in all of us.
Ann Curry
Since America's wars began in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have taken photographs of those who volunteered. And whether it was in a forward operating base in Helmand Province days before an expected spring offensive over the mountains from Pakistan, or at one of Saddam's palaces in Baghdad, or in an Apache helicopter flying over Iraq, the same thing most deeply impresses: GRIT.
Ann Curry
Ann Curry
Ann Curry
This is what made me press click on my camera. Isn't this the American grit we always hear about...the kind that links the Pilgrims to the Founding Fathers to soldiers throughout our history, including both Union and Confederate, and all the boys who dropped out of high school to fight on the beaches and in the sands and forests and jungles of World War II?
Ann Curry
This grit is the stuff of America's past and its future. Today, as our nation nears the end of its rope, after bearing for too long the hard knocks of wars, fears of terrorism and a struggling economy, perhaps the grit learned on the battlefield, is exactly what we need now at home.
Ann Curry
Ann Curry
One million war veterans are expected to return home over the next five years, looking for jobs that could give them a chance to fuel our economy. Among them are potential future leaders, CEOs and senators, perhaps even a president one day.
Ann Curry
The future story of American grit may now depend on just how purposefully our nation faces welcoming our warriors home, and by that I mean each one of us.
For more on Hiring our Heroes, an initiative from NBC News and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that aims to get veterans back into the workforce, click here. Learn more about job fairs for veterans here.
Jeff Roberson / AP
Participants in a parade to honor Iraq War veterans make their way along a downtown street Saturday, Jan. 28, in St. Louis, Mo. Thousands turned out to watch the first big welcome home parade in the United States since the last troops left Iraq in December.
AP reports:
People in the crowd waved American flags and held signs reading, "Welcome Home" and "God Bless Our Troops." Fire trucks with aerial ladders hoisted three huge American flags along the route.
Two St. Louis men launched a grass-roots effort to hold the parade after noticing there'd been no large public celebrations to welcome troops home.
Full story: St. Louis hosting 1st big parade on Iraq War's end
Sarah Conard / Reuters
Larry Connor, center, Vietnam veteran, salutes his fellow servicemen during the Welcome Home Heroes Parade in downtown St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 28.
Jeff Roberson / AP
Stephanie King holds a picture of her uncle, Col. Stephen Scott, who was killed in Iraq in 2008, as she prepares to participate in a parade to honor Iraq War veterans, Jan. 28, in St. Louis, Mo.
Rick Bowmer / AP
Nicholas Henry, 12, receives the presentation of the flag by a Navy representative during the burial for Naval Petty Officer 2nd Class Stevenson L. Roy, a recently deceased homeless Vietnam veteran, Jan. 25, at Willamette National Cemetery, in Portland,
Rick Bowmer / AP
A member of the Honor Guard salutes during the burial for Naval Petty Officer 2nd Class Stevenson L. Roy, a recently deceased homeless Vietnam veteran, Jan. 25.
The burial of a homeless Navy veteran at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland was the 1,000th in a national program that provides military honors to homeless and indigent vets.
Petty Naval Officer 2nd Class Stevenson L. Roy died of natural causes on Dec. 16, when it was discovered that he had served during the Vietnam War.
The Oregonian reported no family members could be found, so the funeral was handled by the Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home through the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program.
The program provided Roy with a full military burial, complete with a 21-gun salute, missing-man procession by the Patriot Guard motorcycle riders, and presentation of the flag by the Oregon Honor Guard.
Since Roy had no widow, children, siblings, or other relatives, the honor guard presented the folded flag to 12-year-old Nick Henry because he is a member of the Civil Air Patrol and his mother is an executive at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, which conducted the service, reported OregonLive.com.
The Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program began in 2000 and is one of several efforts by the Dignity Memorial network to honor and support our nation's veterans and active military.
According to the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs, approximately 130,000 veterans in the United States experience homelessness in a given year.
-- The Associated Press contributed to the blog post
Rick Bowmer / AP
The Honor Guard holds the flag during the burial for Naval Petty Officer 2nd Class Stevenson L. Roy, a recently deceased homeless Vietnam veteran Jan. 25.
Rick Bowmer / AP
Members of the Patriot Guard motorcycle riders carry the casket of Naval Petty Officer 2nd Class Stevenson L. Roy.
Eric Draper / Burson-Marsteller via AP
Military veterans US Army Sgt. (Ret.) Dan Nevins, left, and North Carolina National Guard SSgt. (Ret.) Dale Beatty, look on as former President George W. Bush tees off during a practice round in the two-day Warrior Open tournament at Las Colinas Country Club, in Irving, Texas on Sunday, Oct. 9. Twenty wounded military members are competing in the two-day Warrior Open tournament being held in the Dallas suburb of Irving.
Former President George Bush hosted the Warrior Open golf tournament this past Sunday in Irving, Tex. The competition for wounded veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, gave Bush the opportunity to interact with soldiers. While Bush has had few public appearances since leaving office, showing his support of the U.S troops has been one of his priorities. In April, he hosted Warrior 100, a similar event where he biked 62 miles (100 kilometers) with injured servicemen.
From AP:
"I was a little concerned that our veterans don't think that I still respect them and care for them a lot," Bush told the AP. He added later, "There's nothing as courageous in my judgment as someone who had a leg blown off in combat overcoming the difficulties."
For more information: AP Interview: George W. Bush still supports troops
This is a heartwarming story. But as the AP points out, 100,000 other gay soldiers were forced out between World War II and 1993.
AP reports:
SAN DIEGO — Nearly 70 years after expelling Melvin Dwork for being gay, the Navy is changing his discharge from "undesirable" to "honorable" — marking what is believed to be the first time the Pentagon has taken such a step on behalf of a World War II veteran since the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
The Navy notified the 89-year-old former corpsman last month that he will now be eligible for the benefits he had long been denied, including medical care and a military burial.
Seth Wenig / AP
Photographs of Melvin Dwork, taken in 1943 when he was in the Navy, lie on display at his home in New York. Nearly 70 years after Dwork was expelled from the Navy for being gay, the military is changing his discharge from "undesirable" to "honorable," marking what is believed to be the first time the Pentagon has taken such a step on behalf of a World War II veteran since the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
Seth Wenig / AP
Mel Dwork poses for a picture, wearing his Navy cap, at his home in New York.
Seth Wenig / AP
Melvin Dwork's discharge letter from the Navy lists the character of the discharge as "undesirable" and the reason as "unfitness," at Dwork's home in New York.
Tara Todras-Whitehill / AP
Russian-Israeli World War II veterans hold hands as they march in a street parade marking VE Day (Victory in Europe) in Jerusalem, Israel on May 11.
Scores of Russian-Israeli World War II veterans from the former Soviet Union marched together with their families in Jerusalem Wednesday to celebrate the 66th anniversary of the Allies victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, AP reported.
See more images of this week's commemorations on PhotoBlog.
Blaine McCartney / AP
Gordon Rose checks out a fly that Nathan Hansen made at the Sheridan VA Medical Center, in Sheridan, Wyo. For longtime guide and fly-tier Gordon Rose, the sport of fly fishing has been a both a career and a lifelong passion. Nine veterans are participating in a program Rose launched last month called, Sheridan WYO Healing Waters, part of a national non-profit program called Project Healing Waters that’s dedicated to helping disabled military veterans through fly fishing.
Blaine McCartney / AP
Fran Oswald works on tying a fly during at the Sheridan VA Medical Center, in Sheridan, Wyo.
Blaine McCartney / AP
Fran Oswald works on tying a fly at the Sheridan VA Medical Center, in Sheridan, Wyo.
Blaine McCartney / AP
Cesar Melgar checks out the fly he just finished tying at the Sheridan VA Medical Center, in Sheridan, Wyo.
From AP:
The veterans are participating in a program Rose launched earlier this month called Sheridan WYO Healing Waters, a local offshoot of a national nonprofit program called Project Healing Waters dedicated to helping disabled military veterans through fly-fishing. Read the full story here.
Left: courtesy David DeJonge. Right: Karen Bleier / AFP - Getty Images file
Frank Buckles, who was the last surviving US World War I veteran. The photo on the left was taken in 1917, and the photo on the right was taken on June 18, 2008 when Buckles, then 107, was honored by members of Congress and veterans on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Frank Buckles, the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, has died. He was 110.
Buckles, who also survived being a civilian POW in the Philippines in World War II, died peacefully of natural causes early Sunday at his home in Charles Town, biographer and family spokesman David DeJonge said in a statement. Buckles turned 110 on Feb. 1 and had been advocating for a national memorial honoring veterans of World War I in Washington, D.C.
Buckles lied about his age to join the army at age 16. The Missouri native was among nearly 5 million Americans who served in World War I in 1917 and 1918.
"I knew there'd be only one (survivor) someday. I didn't think it would be me," he was quoted as saying in recent years. Continue reading.
NBC's Bob Faw interviewed Frank Buckles in 2007, when he was 106 years old.
You can read more about Buckles' extraordinary life at the website for Pershing's Last Patriot, a documentary film slated for release this year.
The Veterans' History Project has fascinating archive material on Buckles' service, including historical photographs, audio and video interviews and his enlistment record from August 14th, 1917.
They served during times of war and peace from 1940 through the 1970s. Over time they’d fallen on hard times, eventually becoming part of New York City’s homeless population. When they died, their remains went unclaimed.
Several groups came together Saturday morning to provide the veterans with the tribute they deserve.
Mary Altaffer / AP
A military honor guard folds the American flag that draped one of the 20 U.S. military veterans' caskets whose remains were unclaimed during their burial ceremony at Calverton National Cemetery, Jan. 8, 2011, in Calverton, N.Y. The ceremony, sponsored by the Dignity Memorial network, has provided services for more than 850 veterans since its inception in 2000.
Mary Altaffer / AP
Veterans stand at attention during the burial ceremony.
Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
The casket of one of the U.S. military veterans whose remains were unclaimed is seen inside a hearse during their burial ceremony.
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