A few weeks ago my 2002 Saab’s engine conked out as I was driving in northern Virginia. Two good Samaritans and I pushed the car over to the side of the road where a tow truck retrieved it. It was off to the repair shop, for the second time in the past couple of months.

I showed up late that day to meet my friends, who asked whether it might not be time to trade in my Saab for a new car. After all, the past couple of years have witnessed an increase in the frequency and cost of repairs.

The Saab is not really my car. My late stepfather Gene bought it and drove only 45,000 miles before he passed away in 2013.

Before earning a Ph.D. in history and embarking on a 50-year career as a distinguished college professor of history, Gene enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He served for five years, including a one-year overseas deployment during the Korean War.

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He drove a Saab since 1984 and under his tutelage, I as well since 1994. It was fitting given his service in the Air Force, that Gene chose a car the Swedish Aeroplane Corp. first designed in 1945.

Gene took great delight that my black Saab became the object of Russian government attention during some challenging overseas assignments in the former Soviet Union.

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My mother told me Gene wanted me to have his Saab. And no, I’m not yet ready to stop driving it.

Gene and I spent many hours in that car together. He was always the driver, and I the passenger. Even in his mid-80s, he drove with great skill and was never ticketed even though he had a penchant for driving above the posted speed limit.

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The Saab has a way of sparking memories of Gene. Every day when I step into the car, I think of him. I remember the many conversations we had about our family, my career and future plans.

There is nothing modern about Gene’s Saab. There is no camera to assist with parking and none of the technological gadgets so prevalent in today’s models. But my two young sons appreciate the sound and feel of the manual shift, and the powerful albeit dated, turbo engine. They know it’s their Papa Gene’s car.

The ethos among our patriotic citizens in uniform of volunteering to defend our nation in the most dangerous locations remains as strong as ever.

Gene was a veteran. He had a powerful impact on the path I chose, both academically and professionally, and he taught me the value of dedicating one’s life to service above self.

Never before in U.S. history has such a small percentage of our population serving in the military been responsible for the security of so many of our nation. And never before have there been so many complex threats to our nation’s security. So many of this century’s veterans have served multiple overseas deployments in an extraordinarily dangerous battlespace. And sacrificing time away from their loved ones, they continue to do so.

The U.S. military applies Charles Krauthammer’s strategy of “forward defense”, confronting our enemies “over there” rather than allowing them to plan and execute attacks on our homeland.

The ethos among our patriotic citizens in uniform of volunteering to defend our nation in the most dangerous locations remains as strong as ever.

As my sons grow up, they are able to comprehend more fully the sacrifices our brave veterans made and continue to make on behalf of our grateful nation.

Our family expresses thanks year round, when we greet a service man or woman, in uniform.

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But Veterans Day is a special opportunity for remembering and honoring our military personnel and their families.

This year we will be taking our sons to visit a veteran in the hospital. And, of course, we’ll be driving together in their grandfather’s Saab.

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