In this talk, after some personal stories from Donald about his father, who was a veteran, and about Donald’s early experiences growing up at the time of the Vietnam war, we explore several dimensions of our practice related to the holiday. We focus especially on the importance of touching grief, loss, and sadness; the ethical teachings about killing and nonviolence, including the complexities of these teachings; grounding in kindness, compassion, and love; and being skillful with differences and conflicts.