Veterans Day travel deals; Readers comment on American military cemeteries in Europe

Good morning, travelers. Did you know that Veterans Day used to be called Armistice Day? We’ve got a full roundup of Veterans Day feature articles, reader comments and deals for you today. To cash in on the deals – just bring your military ID. If you’re in Los Angeles, here is a list of Veterans Day holiday closures.

Photo Galleries | U.S. military cemeteries in Europe & Your Scene Military Tributes page

Reader feedback | Susan Spano’s article, “American military cemeteries in Europe honor heroes in both world wars,” has touched several of our readers. Here are two particularly poignant stories they’ve sent in:

“Thank you for writing your article on war graves.

I’d like you to know that we in the UK have the American Military Cemetery at Madingley near Cambridge. Here there are many graves, notably from the 8th Air Force - the Mighty Eighth. This is “Memphis Belle country”, you might say.

I have two sons aged 13 and 8 and it is our annual pilgrimage to go to Madingley to say thank you to the men who fought alongside The Brits in the 2nd World War.

My hope is that, having brought my boys up to remember the brave souls who gave their lives, that they will do the same in their turn. If so, your young men will be commemorated by our young men for well over 100 years.” —Stephen

“Thank you for your recent article. My Grandfather is buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery, not far from Verdun, in St. Avold France. I had the honor to go there a few years ago, taking with me a small portion of my grandmothers ashes to be placed with his grave. Words cannot express the quiet beauty of the place, or the dedication of the staff to maintaining it to Arlington standards. The cemetery is immaculately maintained, beautiful, and utterly moving.

As it just happened on that particular day, I arrived when the office staff who usually greet visitors and show them to their loved ones graves were out to lunch. I waited for their return, reading about the various medal of honor winners and studying others materials in the waiting area. While I waited, a group of men came in. they were dressed as civilians, yet all had a fairly military demeanor to them, the unmistakable air a career military man gets. I engaged them in conversation, and at first they were a bit evasive about who they were and why they were there. But they were quite interested in why I was there. I told them I was there to see my Grandfather, that he had started off in North Africa before D-Day, fought his way across, then to Italy, then on to Germany. He made it through the whole war, only to die in a jeep accident 2 days after VE day. They were suitably sympathetic to the story and listened intently, then asked me if my grandmother was still with us, at which point I produced the small vial containing her remains and told them I had come to place her ashes with his grave.

At this point their entire demeanor changed. It turned out that the man I had been talking to was Gen. Frederick M. Franks, retired, the Chairman of the American Battlefield Monuments Commission, and the people with him were his staff and other AMBC people and the caretaker of the Lorraine cemetery. They treated me like royalty, made sure I had everything I needed, including a bottle of alsace wine, some belgium beer, even got me a ride back to my hotel, and to the train the next day. They told me were all the good places to go in town were, I must say the people of St. Avold were amazing to me. They really opened their arms to me, and were wonderful people.

So thank you for drawing attention to these solemn and beautiful places. I will always remember my time there, and hope others will remember the sacrifices so many made.” —Sean

Veterans Day Travel Deals | If you’re flying Southwest Airlines today, bring your military ID. You will be allowed priority boarding, deplaning and a free drink.

> Get into national parks free today. Includes Los Padres, San Bernardino, Angeles and Cleveland national forests.

> For those that don’t have a military ID, don’t worry - there’s a deal for you too. The new shopping blog, To Live and Buy in LA, tells us that the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is giving out free holiday drinks from 5 to 8 p.m.

> If you live in Hawaii - note that the Hawaii Superferry is offering military and their dependents a
free round trip on the Alakai with the purchase of one round trip fare. When? Good for travel booked through Dec. 15, 2008.

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Gen Patten, by leroy, Your News Military Tribute, Your Scene, Los Angeles Times]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 7:49 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Airline travel, Europe, Good Morning, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.