American
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
A grave with no name on it, in Arlington — a soldier nobody could identify, so he stands for all of them. A guard keeps watch every minute of every day, in any weather, and has for a hundred years.
This Week · Service · Veterans Day
Service: how do we thank those who served?
For littler ones: How do we say thank you to people who help keep us safe?
It's Veterans Day week, and we're wondering about service — and about saying thank you for it. How do we thank those who served, when someone has given so much? Not just with words. It's a good thing to turn over in the car or at the table, because there's no single right answer, and everyone at your house may reach for a different one.
This week's stories
American
Audie Murphy, the Farm Boy Who Went to War
A poor Texas farm boy, small and young, who became one of the most decorated soldiers of his war — and spent the rest of his life uneasy with the word hero, never thinking he'd done more than the friends who didn't come home.
American
The Eleventh Hour
The morning a long, terrible war finally stopped — at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns went quiet, and a whole world held still. That silence is why we pause every November.
Talk about it
- If you wanted to thank someone who served, what could you do that isn't only saying the words?
- The soldier in the tomb has no name, and people still keep watch over him. Why do you think that matters to them?
- Audie Murphy didn't like being called a hero. What do you think made him feel that way?
A new question every week.
Listen together in the app — short audio stories for kids 4–10, at bedtime, on the drive, in the drop-off line.
Join the family
Get the stories that built America in your inbox
New stories, the weekly Almanac, and family read-aloud picks. No spam — unsubscribe anytime.