Honoring Our Military Members
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Season 2: Episode 31 Description
In today’s episode: 🇺🇸 November 11th is Veterans Day and we are honoring our service members.🎖️ Learn why the holiday is always 11/11 and what happened at the 11th hour of that day many years ago.👩✈️ Ten'er Dylan interviews retired Air Force Major Courtney Davis about her time in the military.🗞️ In the news: Runners hit the pavement and reopened borders. 🏜️ And test your knowledge in today's Trivia on the Ten. ✅
Sources for the episode
Veterans Day Facts - Data, Populations & Background - HISTORY
Facts About Military Working Dogs | Armed Forces Entertainment
New York City Marathon Returns With Fanfare and Optimism - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Thousands of runners on the streets for 2021 L.A. Marathon - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
US reopens to international travel, allows happy reunions (apnews.com)
Madrid: Camels escape from circus and venture out to explore city - CNN
July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind | NASA
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TRANSCRIPT:
Bethany Van Delft 0:02
Today is the 11th day of the 11th month and the day we honor our US military members, past and present. Today we're learning about Veterans Day. I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's November 11th. And this is The Ten News.
Various Voices 0:18
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Bethany Van Delft 0:27
Veterans Day is a day to honor those who have served in our country's military and to give thanks for their sacrifices. A veteran is someone who has served in the US military, which is now made of six parts. The Navy, the Army, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, and the newest branch created in 2019, the Space Force. But why does the holiday always fall on November 11th? Something really important happened on that day way back in 1918. The 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marks the end of World War One in 1918. The war ended when the two sides agreed to an armistice, which meant a truce that ended the fighting. WoW. One year later, the day was celebrated as Armistice Day. After almost 50 years, in 1954. President Eisenhower changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day and we've been recognizing it that way ever since. To honor Veterans Day. We're replaying one of our favorite interviews from last year, a friend of The Ten News, 14-year-old Dylan spoke with retired Air Force Major, Courtney Davis about her service.
Courtney Davis 1:42
Hi, my name is Courtney Davis. I live in Morgan Hill, California. And I am the mom of two beautiful kids, Danica and DJ.
Dylan 1:51
So, Courtney, Veterans Day is coming up, and I know that you're a veteran, and that's really cool. So I'm just going to ask you a few questions about what your service was like?
Courtney Davis 2:04
Sure.
Dylan 2:04
The first thing that I want to ask you is, what branch of service were you in?
Courtney Davis 2:10
I enlisted in the United States Air Force Reserve.
Dylan 2:13
Okay, And was there any specific reason that you chose the Air Force?
Courtney Davis 2:16
You know, truthfully, I was really influenced by my family, as my entire family served in the military, my father, uncle, grandfather, the whole family. So that was the biggest influence. And I graduated from high school at 17 years old and wasn't ready to start college right away. But I knew that at that time, I wanted to go into the medical field. So I felt like joining the military would be a good stepping stone for my future career. I also received the GI Bill, which was funds that helped pay for my college tuition. I was deployed multiple times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. My very last deployment was in 2006 and that was to Ballade Air Force Base in Iraq.
Dylan 3:02
What rank were you?
Courtney Davis 3:04
I started from the bottom as an Airman Basic or an E1. And I retired as an officer, a Major, and an O4.
Dylan 3:10
What was your job when you were deployed?
Courtney Davis 3:13
So, while I was deployed, I was deployed as a medical technician. So my job was to take care of the troops. But right before I deployed, I had taken my boards to get my nursing license. So by the time I got into the country, I found out that I had passed my boards. And at that point, that was when I first began my job as an official nurse.
Dylan 3:37
Were you nervous the first time you were deployed?
Courtney Davis 3:39
I was absolutely terrified. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I quickly found out.
Dylan 3:47
Does it get better, the more you're deployed?
Courtney Davis 3:50
I would say each deployment was very different. But I don't think I ever got accustomed to the environment that I was in because it's such an unnatural environment to be in. And I don't feel like I spent a long enough time to say that I actually got used to it. It was pretty tough every single day.
Dylan 4:12
What are you most proud of about your military service?
Courtney Davis 4:16
I would say the most I'm most proud of the time that I spent caring for the wounded veterans while I was deployed, to be able to give back to these selfless heroes who risked their lives for our country with honor. And I learned a lot from them.
Dylan 4:32
What does Veterans Day mean to you?
Courtney Davis 4:34
Veterans Day means to me, it's a day to honor and celebrate the service of our past and present Veterans who have fought for all the freedoms that we have today.
Dylan 4:45
What do you think is a good way for people to celebrate Veterans Day?
Courtney Davis 4:49
Good question. I would say not just Veterans Day, but any day. It's always nice to thank a service member if you see one in uniform, or one You know, proudly wearing a retired hat. Just say thank you for your service. We really appreciate that.
Dylan 5:06
What is something that you want kids to know about people in the military? And like, what do you tell your kids about what the military was like?
Courtney Davis 5:13
Absolutely. My kids know all about what I used to do, especially, you know, my little guy, DJ, he's really big into the military. And I think a common misconception about the military is that we all get to fly in planes or participate in combat. And that's, that's not true. People are in the military are ordinary folks who just do extraordinary things and a lot of the careers that you can have in the military, you can also have in the civilian world, or otherwise, you know, the workforce outside the military.
Dylan 5:49
Well, thank you for your service.
Courtney Davis 5:52
Thank you so much.
Bethany Van Delft 5:55
Here's something about the military that may surprise you. Dogs serve as officers in every branch of the US Military. Oh, good boy, I am. It's a tradition that dogs are given a higher rank than their handler to remind everyone just how important these furry service members are. And it's nothing new, Military dogs have been parachuting out of planes to rescue people since the 1940s. The most decorated dog in US Military history was a mutt named Chips, who even met President Eisenhower Wow. Although all the doggos are extremely cute, it's important to remember that military dogs are working dogs, and you should never try to pet them while they're on duty. Now let's see what else is going on. After a long wait, runners on both coasts hit the pavement this past Sunday. 30,000 People from all over the world ran the New York City Marathon after was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. And the Los Angeles marathon returned after being postponed twice this year. Way to go! After more than 20 months the US has reopened its borders to visitors from more than 30 countries as long as they're vaccinated and the land borders with Canada and Mexico are open again too. Police in Madrid we're big busy this week with an unusual type of emergency. Several camels and a llama escaped from a circus in the Spanish capital. But, their night out on the town didn't last too long. The animals were found and guided back to the circus safe and sound. Alright, now it's time for...
Various Voices 7:48
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 7:51
Trivia on The Ten. Now we know why Veterans Day is on the date 11/11 every year, but did you know that the number 11 has a big significance when it comes to space as well. The 11th mission of NASA's Apollo Space Program was one of the most historic. What made the trip out of this world? Did it a) orbit the Earth b) travel to Mars or c) bring astronauts to the moon? Did you guess it? The answer is c) bring astronauts to the moon. Apollo 11 Lunar Module was the first manned spacecraft to land on Earth's moon. Back in 1969, when astronaut and Veteran Neil Armstrong hopped out of the Lunar Module he famously said, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Time's up, but before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team is still honoring our Veterans and includes Tracey Crooks, Tessa Flannery, Pete Musto, Adam Barnard, and Nathalie Alonso. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle. And our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. I wonder when the first dog will land on the moon? One small step for the doggo, one giant leap for dog-kind.
