“In order that a grateful nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation,” we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11. So proclaimed President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954, when he declared this day a federal holiday to honor the men and women who have served the United States in uniform.
Eisenhower’s proclamation expanded the observation of Armistice Day—a November 11 recognition of the end of World War I—to include those veterans who fought in World War II and Korea. In the ensuing years, generations of American service members have continued to serve in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and millions have been stationed around the world. Additionally, American veterans have served at home, responding to natural disasters, emergencies, and terrorist attacks, upholding their solemn oath to support and defend our great nation.
There are so many—around 19 million living veterans and all those who have passed on—who deserve our enduring thanks.
The road home isn’t always easy. Many veterans carry physical or emotional wounds they suffered during their service. A mental health and suicide crisis among veterans continues to claim lives. Some struggle to acclimate to civilian life, and a great many Americans—veterans or not—are grappling with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At Cell Phones For Soldiers, we live every day in gratitude for the service members who keep our country safe. Our Helping Heroes Home program, which we established in 2012, has helped more than 7,500 veterans and their families navigate communication challenges as well as physical, emotional, and assimilation hardships.
You can help Cell Phones For Soldiers help veterans by donating unwanted or old cell phones, smartphones, tablets, mp3 players, digital cameras, and their accessories. We accept devices in all conditions of all ages, whether they work or not. All devices are securely wiped of their data—a safe and meaningful way to keep harmful mobile e-waste out of our landfills while giving back to America’s heroes.
