Veterans Day can be described simply as the day set aside to honor our country's veterans.

"This is about service, about the sacrifices that give us our rights, liberty and environment," explained Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza this afternoon to the student body of St. Francis Cabrini School.

Invited by the school to speak, the commander of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord arrived with his wife, Madeline, and without an entourage.

The first person he shook hands with was a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

"Thank you for your service," Lanza said.

Soon surrounded by students wearing red, white and blue and waving flags, Lanza spoke about the need to remember the service and sacrifices of our nation's veterans. 

"This day of honor began on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918," he began.

During his remarks, a couple of first- and second-graders asked questions.

Without breaking stride and wearing a big smile, Lanza took the time to answer their questions - but with an enduring message to his young audience.

In talking about those who have sworn an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution, Lanza closed by quoting President John Kennedy.

"A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers."