When Service Becomes a Way of Life: A Veterans Day Reflection on Purpose

Earlier this month, I sat down with John Morris, an Air Force veteran and NMFA’s Development and Grants Manager, to talk about what service means to him both in uniform and beyond it. His story began long before his time in the Air Force, rooted in a moment that shaped not only his future but the entire nation.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the loudspeaker crackled through his high school classroom. Fourteen-year-old John froze. His father was an American Airlines pilot based out of Boston, and for hours, he did not know if his father was alive. When he finally walked through the door and saw him sitting safely on the couch, relief was quickly replaced by something else: a spark of purpose.

“Seeing his reaction to what was happening, I knew right then that I wanted to serve,” John remembered. “My family has a heritage of military service, and I realized this was something I needed to follow through with.”

That sense of duty never left him. Years later, before his family even knew it, John quietly enlisted in the delayed-entry program. While his parents encouraged the college route, he knew his heart was leading him somewhere else.

The pride that followed lingered for years. Though military service was part of his family’s legacy, this was something uniquely his own, a commitment born from purpose and conviction.

During his time in uniform, John found that service meant far more than physical endurance or discipline. It became about connections and understanding people. As a recruiter, he met young men and women from every background imaginable, each with their own reasons for joining. One of his earliest recruits went into the same career field as John. Years later, they are still friends.

“I got to see a little bit of myself in him,” John said. “It’s a great thing to watch someone grow and know you played a small part in it.”

He also met many mentors who shaped his understanding of leadership. One in particular showed him what empathy looked like in action. “He wasn’t my supervisor, but he became the person I could lean on,” John said. “After we got back from deployment, a lot of people were struggling with mental health and family issues. He reminded me that leadership isn’t just about being strong; it’s about being human.”

That realization changed everything. John came to see that service is not measured by rank or awards, but by the lives we lift and the understanding we offer others.

“I grew up in a typical middle-class environment,” he reflected. “I didn’t understand what food insecurity was or what it meant for families to truly struggle. The military opened my eyes to how different people’s lives can be. Some joined because it was their only option. It taught me empathy and made me see the world differently.”

After separating from the Air Force, John carried those lessons into his next chapter; one still grounded in service. He worked with veterans as a police officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, then Student Veterans of America, and eventually found his way to the National Military Family Association.

Today, his uniform may have changed, but his mission hasn’t.

“At NMFA, I still get to serve,” he said. “Service now means supporting the entire military family, the spouses, the kids, the veterans. It is a whole-person concept. It never stops. Whether you are at work, at home, or out in the community, you carry that commitment with you.”

For John, service is no longer defined by uniforms or awards. It lives in quiet moments of compassion, in listening when someone needs to be heard, and in standing beside others even when no one is watching. What began as duty has evolved into a way of being, one rooted in empathy, humility, and a deep respect for the shared human experience.

“We’re not just the people you see in the movies,” he said. “Veterans are standing right beside you, in the grocery store, in your neighborhood, at your kid’s school. We are part of every community, every culture, every walk of life. And we will always be the first to stand up for others.”

As he reflects on his journey from that uncertain day in 2001 to the work he does now, John’s voice carries the calm conviction of someone who has lived the word service in every form it takes.

“Serving doesn’t end when you take off the uniform,” he said. “It just changes who and how you serve.”

By: Olivia Brinsfield, Content Manager