Veterans Day Coloring Pages

Veterans Day is a day for saying thank you, and for many children a colored page is the easiest way to say it. These Veterans Day coloring pages show veterans at the parade, at home and among their families, along with the symbols of the day: the flag, poppies, wreaths and the bald eagle.

The thank-you pages are at the heart of the set. A boy hands a bunch of poppies to a veteran on a park bench, another pins a poppy on a veteran's coat on the front steps, a veteran in uniform shakes hands inside a frame of oak leaves, and a veteran teaches a boy how to fold the flag. The parade pages bring the day to Main Street: a marching band with drums and trumpets, a veteran carrying a flag-waving child on his shoulders, a children's drum corps, a horse in parade harness, a bicycle decorated with little flags and a cartoon eagle holding balloons.

Many pages show veterans in everyday life, which is a good reminder that veterans are neighbors, grandparents and friends: a veteran on the porch swing with his service dog, one in a wheelchair on a path lined with little flags, one fishing from a dock, one tending a vegetable garden, one with a cat on his lap by a snowy window, a veteran nurse bandaging a puppy's paw, a family looking through an old photo album and a group of veterans sharing coffee under a tent. The quieter pages are for remembrance: a veteran in dress uniform beside a folded flag, a folded flag case on the mantel next to a candle, a table set with an empty chair, a stone memorial with a wreath, a bugler at sunrise, doves over a stone bridge, a field of poppies, a hand planting a poppy and a wreath of poppies over the stars and stripes. The symbols round it out: a bald eagle under the flag, a lighthouse with the flag flying, a pair of military boots, an old jeep with children climbing on it, a helicopter over the hills, a paper boat and a front door wreath with a VETERANS DAY ribbon.

What is Veterans Day?

Veterans Day is on November 11 every year in the United States. It began as Armistice Day, marking the end of the fighting in World War I at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all who have served in the armed forces. It is different from Memorial Day in May, which honors those who died in service: Veterans Day thanks everyone who served, living or not. Many other countries mark November 11 as Remembrance Day, and the red poppy, which grew on the battlefields of World War I, became its symbol.

Colors for the day

The traditional colors are simple:

• Red, white and blue for the flag, the bunting, the balloons and the bicycle streamers.
• Bright red with a black center for every poppy.
• Olive green, khaki and navy for uniforms, boots and the old jeep.
• Gold for buttons, medals and the fringe of a parade flag.

The remembrance pages look beautiful in soft colors, with a sunrise in pale orange and pink behind the bugler.

For young children and older ones

The simplest pages, like the poppy, the boots, the paper boat or the eagle with balloons, suit young children. Quick to color, above the grid, begins with:

• Paper boat
• Flag case
• Boots

The parade and memorial scenes are more detailed and suit older children. Lots of detail begins with:

• Drum corps
• Flag bike
• Marching band

A thank-you card for a veteran

Many schools ask children to make cards for veterans in November. Color a page, fold it in half, and write a short thank-you inside: "Thank you for your service" is the classic message. Cards can go to a grandparent, a neighbor, a local veterans' home or a veterans' organization that collects them. The poppy wreath and the thank-you handshake pages make especially good card fronts.

Printing

Every page is a free A4 PDF drawn at 300 dpi. A4 prints at full size, and on US Letter "fit to page" shrinks the drawing by about six percent so nothing is cut off. The printing guide shows the setting. Add to pack prints a set for a whole class at once. The American flag coloring pages, the 4th of July coloring pages and the eagle coloring pages go well alongside, and the Thanksgiving coloring pages carry November on.