On Veterans Day we give thanks to the brave men and women who have served and are currently serving.

It's a day of honor and comradery among brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives to provide safety and freedom for their country, a nation where our rights are defended by the heroic actions of our forefathers who paved the righteous path of glory with selfless sacrifice.

To observe this Veterans Day, I was honored to have a sit-down with SSG Daniel J. Henrique.

Henrique spent his last 13 years in the U.S. military, nine of those in active duty in the Massachusetts Army National Guard. Stationed all over the world, he spent most of his time here on American soil, but also in Afghanistan and Guam. To this day, he still serves his country as a Staff Sergeant with a loving family and a heart of gold.

When I first spoke with SSG Henrique, I was anxious to hear his story from a young veteran to a young civilian. Needless to say, I was not disappointed by his noble mentality to serve the country he loves.

One thing I've learned over the years is that a majority of people think of veterans as 80-year-old men wearing their service cover, when the reality is, there are a lot of 30-to-50-year-old men and women veterans. It’s not always the WWII or Vietnam veterans that have stories to tell; there are thousands of men and women who are raising families and working full-time jobs who have also served this country in the last 20 years.

SSG Henrique is a prime example and this is his message to all veterans out there:

LOOK: 100 years of American military history

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