In honor of Veterans Day, we put together a collection of story starters and topics that could lead to some engaging journalism for folks looking to do more than event stories. Some of these may be too late for this year’s holiday, but they also could inspire other ideas along the same lines. Here we go…

What do veterans do on Veterans Day and other similar holidays? I remember working on a story about Memorial Day and a veteran was telling us how it was a time of significant reflection for him. In that same story, another veteran said it bothered him that the solemnity of the holiday had become “a day for a mattress sale.”

Along those same lines, it would be interesting to find out what veterans in your community do on Veterans Day. The school my mom used to work at had a large assembly, where veterans would explain their experiences to the students, helping them to see what life in the military meant to them. Other similar events give veterans a chance for recognition and appreciation.

On the other hand, some folks may not take part in these events for myriad reasons or even really spend much time thinking about their own service. A wide array of perspectives on this could lead to an interesting story.

The G.I. Bill: This started near the end of World War II as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 and was intended to help military personnel returning to civilian life. The underlying principles and ideals remain intact today through several pieces of federal legislation.

What benefits exist today for those veterans covered under specific bills passed over the years? How are today’s more recent veterans benefiting and how are the benefits assisting older veterans? A look at the local impact of this package could be helpful to fill in non-military members on how this all works.

What kinds of veterans programs are available on your campus for returning students? Bringing this idea closer to home, learning what veterans who enter school as part of their benefit packages can expect upon entering campus life could be informative and beneficial to these incoming students.

Some schools have significant veteran presences on their campus and meet those needs with well-developed programs. Others might have fewer opportunities or veteran-specific organizations available. Find out what’s out there.

What’s the current state of VFW Posts and other similar venues? As a kid, I remember seeing VFW buildings in most places we lived or had family. The one I got a chance to enter back then had this amazing kind of time-capsule charm, with an old Formica bar, old music trickling out of some low-hanging speakers and some tables where guys with wrinkled tattoos on their arms sipped beer and told tales.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization states on its website that it has more than 6,000 posts throughout the country. I’m quite certain that my one experience isn’t all that’s there, nor do I imagine that they have remained trapped in time, given a lot of the folks joining are in many ways different than the “old guys” I remember seeing. What the organization does and what purpose these posts

Build me some explainers: Between the various branches, the specific rules and the general insular nature of the military, it’s not always easy for civilians to grasp this organization.

Anything can be a good opportunity for text or graphic explainer stories: how ranks work, what each branch does, what certain words mean, what certain rules require etc. These short, smart pieces can provide a bridge between military and civilian life and understanding.

Who are the veterans of today (and tomorrow)? When I was a kid, the veterans were either the stereotypical grandpas who fought in World War II or Korea, along with some dads who were Vietnam era vets. A lot has changed in the military since those folks were standard G.I., so finding out what the data on more recent vets would be helpful and informative.

It’s also interesting to see of the people who are enlisting now, what a “veteran” might look like in the following 10 or 15 years has some potential for a story.

The second half of a lifer’s life: Some military folks decide to make the military their careers, as they stay with a branch of service until retirement. According to military service information, a person can retire with full pension after 20 years of active service.  In some cases, this means someone could retire as early as their late 30s or early 40s.

The question then becomes, “What’s next?” In some cases, this means using the skills they’ve acquired to take on new challenges, while in others, it’s a start of a whole new career and life. For others, it’s taking time to do all the things they put aside until their military service was over. Finding out what people do with this portion of life, particularly as people continue to live longer, healthier lives, would be an interesting investigation.

“A very particular set of skills”: Speaking of skills, it’s always interesting to find out what skills the military values in people coming in and what types of skills today’s military members are receiving.

I remember once my dad telling me that he had to take a typing test as part of his service, but I can’t remember why. The one story I do remember from my grandfather was that he took stenography in high school (“That’s where the girls were,” he said.) and that became helpful during his hitch in the Navy. An officer needed two people to go through intercepted radio message, one to translate the content into English and the other to write it down quickly.

What is it that people today are learning, or what is it that recruiters are told to find in folks looking to enlist because those underlying skills have value to today’s military?

The Honor Flight experience: I’ve known a couple people who have been able to take these flights. Just read this site and try to find someone who did it. Even if you don’t write a story, it’s worth it.

The collectors market: People of all stripes collect all manner of things. (A friend recently told me their husband had a huge collection of everything having to do with Dolly Parton, including tour-worn shoes and a “Dolly” pinball machine…)

When it comes to military collectables, it might be interesting to see what life is like in that world. What things tend to be valued and what things tend to be problematic. (A friend who collected World War II stuff used to say, “Nothing with a swastika will ever be in my hands.”) Also, it would be interesting to see what people who have served tend to think about this hobby and the people who frequent it.

Who is preserving the history of the veterans? Back when I was in Missouri, we decided to run a story that tried to get a veteran from each of the wars of that century to discuss a topic. I kind of groused that we couldn’t find a World War I vet, to which my boss replied, “You don’t have many left to find.” At that point, most were gone and even those who had served at the tail end of the conflict would be nearing 100.

Today, the same thing is happening to World War II vets, as the war itself is now an octogenarian. Even the youngest people to enlist in the latter stages of the conflict are reaching the century mark. Next will be those who served in Korea and so forth. Even people who served during peace time between those conflicts are becoming few and far between,

When we lose people who actually saw and did things, we lose the history they can provide. That was why so many organizations sought to capture information from people who lived through certain time periods or experiences.  Who is out there doing this for certain branches of the military, certain states/cities/communities in which service was part of life? What do they have preserved and what do they need to continue their work? This could lead to a short call-to-action story or a longer look at a deeper topic.