Tomorrow is Veterans Day.

For some citizens, they will see the holiday as merely another three-day weekend.

Another day in which to sit and relax. Watch television or work around the house or yard.

Perhaps get an early start on their Christmas decorating. Because that … that is a holiday they will remember.

For others, Monday will be a day which is recognized. Although not in the way that it should be.

Some schools will be closed.

Some businesses — especially the ones that pertain to the federal government, such as banks — will not be open for business, either. If you are expecting anything in the mail, you will have to wait until Tuesday.

Yes, to a lot of people, Veterans Day is just another day.

There will be businesses and schools that are operating on Monday. And some of them are planning a special service or a free meal for certain veterans.

Cities and villages will hold a ceremony, featuring speakers, songs and a 21-gun salute.

Even I will be the guest speaker for the Jefferson County Veterans Association in Smithfield that day. Although I have absolutely no idea yet what I am going to say.

But why isn’t there more? Why isn’t there so much more?

I always thought Veterans Day was supposed to be a day in which we show our appreciation to those who have served and to those who are serving in our military.

Always under the impression that by honoring the day and saying a simple “thank you” to a former or current serviceman or woman was enough. I was doing my part. Appreciating all of their sacrifices and their protecting our country from all who hate us.

But it’s not. It’s not enough.

A “thank you” may let them know that we are grateful. It may make them stop and smile a brief smile or extend their hand to shake yours as a thank you for your comment.

But in time, I have learned that more needs to be done.

Not only on Veterans Day … but every day.

I have absolutely no idea what it is like to have served in the military. I have no concept of how difficult the training is or how terrifying going to war would feel. I do not know what it is like to have killed someone. And to have to live with that each and every day of my life.

No, I do not know how a veteran feels. And the reason I do not know is because they are the ones who took my place. So I wouldn’t have to know. They took my place. They took your place. So we can have that three-day weekend. So that we can have a peace about us and not have to worry about bombs raining down on our homes while we sleep.

We can pretend we know how a veteran feels. But we haven’t a clue. And we never will.

I was the granddaughter of a Navy veteran. I was the daughter of an Army veteran. I am the mother of a son in the Air Force. And while I am all of these things, I have absolutely no idea what any of them had to endure. Still has to endure.

Why?

Because veterans usually don’t discuss that aspect of their lives. They do not tell us what they have been through. They do not tell us what they are still going through.

No veteran should be going through depression alone.

No veteran should be committing suicide.

No veteran should be sleeping on the streets without a home to call their own. Not one. And until then, we, as a society, need to do more.

We need to start doing more for those who fought for us. Now, it is our time to fight for them.

(Stenger is the community editor for the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)