Come Nov. 11, Farmingdale residents will have a variety of ways to commemorate the Veterans' Day holiday. Some will take the opportunity to go shopping. Some will watch the parades. Some will even take the time to visit local cemeteries to honor the memories of loved ones, those veterans lost both in war and peace. Many will turn their thoughts to troops still stationed in Iraq.

For one Farmingdale family, however, the day will hold an added significance. Not only have the Happ family seen three generations of service in the U.S. military, but on Nov. 9 they will welcome home their only family member still on active duty, as Army Specialist Ian Happ returns from a 15-month tour of duty in Iraq. In addition to their remembrance of things past, the Happ family will be offering thanks for the veterans still among us.

The family's involvement in the military goes back to World War II, when both of Specialist Happ's grandfathers did their duty. His paternal grandfather, Norman Happ, served with the Army in the Pacific theater during that conflict, while at the same time his maternal grandfather, Lt. Col. (Ret) John Maguire, was in Europe, where he was awarded both the Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his heroic endeavors. Both men, now deceased, were longtime Farmingdale residents.

The family's involvement in the military continued with Happ's father, Richard. Posted in Germany at the time of the Vietnam conflict, he saw out his service in the Army with the 97th Signal Battalion, where he attained the same rank - Specialist (or E-4) - that his son Ian now holds.

Ian's two half-brothers also served in the military, and were both posted to Iraq during the first U.S. involvement in Iraq - the Gulf War. Brendan Brooks, now deceased, was a reservist at the time of the conflict, but was called up to serve in Operation Desert Storm. His brother, Richard Brooks, served in the Navy and was posted to the Gulf on USS America, where he served in both the Desert Storm and Desert Shield operations. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, he re-enrolled in the reserves, and remains enlisted to this day. He has also found a different way to serve since leaving the Navy - as a Nassau County Corrections Officer.

Having served in Iraq did not make knowing his brother was stationed there any easier, says Brooks, particularly given the increased risks U.S. troops now face from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) - a tactic that was not a big issue when Brooks served.

"It's a different kind of warfare now than it was in Desert Storm," he said. "Desert Storm happened in a relatively short period of time. The bombing campaign started in January of 1991, and it ended in April. It was relatively quick, and the casualties weren't as high as they are now. Obviously now is more of a concern, being that he was on the ground with the 25th Infantry Division. Just hearing the reports from overseas, and not knowing all that was going on over there with the IEDs ... obviously there was concern, and it's a relief now that he's home."

According to Brooks, Happ enlisted in the Army two years ago and he was first posted to Iraq last August, returning home from that first taste of action in time for Thanksgiving 2006. Upon returning to Iraq, however, he twice endured extensions of his tour of duty with the 25th Infantry Division before making it back to base in Hawaii just last week. In addition to returning safe, he is also decorated, having earned the Army Combat Action Badge, a Medal of Commendation, an Iraq Campaign Medal, a National Defense Service Medal and the Global War On Terrorism Service Medal while deployed. His parents, Richard and Deidre Happ, have recently returned from a trip to Hawaii to see him upon his return, and are looking forward to him completing the final leg of his journey to New York.

As for the upcoming Veterans' Day, that will of course be of special significance to Specialist Happ's nearest and dearest, but Brooks says that it's something more people should take a moment to reflect on.

"Unfortunately, we live in a society now where people put a lot of emphasis on holidays being shopping days," he added, although he said he is aware that recently "Veterans' Day has had meaning not just for veterans, but for a lot of other people as well."

He said he is glad that there are people who take the time to remember veterans.

"It means a lot to all of us. You remember all the sacrifices that people have made. Not just family members, but everyone in the area. Take the time out to think about them."

Ian Happ will rank among those veterans, and his brother hopes that people will not only take time to think about him, but about those who weren't lucky enough to make it back.

"Think about the sacrifices, and especially think about the veterans that didn't come back," he said "That's really the whole point of Veterans Day - not just the veterans that are here, but also the ones that didn't make it back. That's something that we all think about."