Celebrating Veterans Day
From heartwarming homecoming videos to personal vlogs about their service experiences, veterans turn to YouTube to help share their stories and form community. Thanks to their videos, we’ve been able to learn about some of the incredible individuals who serve our country, whether it’s Missy Lynn speaking out about her experience in the Air Force, Nick Bare chronicling his journey from the start of a new business to his last day in the Army, or a son sharing his Army Veteran father’s experience with dementia.
Ahead of this year's Veterans Day, YouTube is sharing a new video to honor veterans for their service and all of the things they do every day -- for their families, for their communities, and for our nation. To those of us who haven’t served, Veterans Day is also an opportunity for us to better understand what it means to be a member of the armed forces — in any country — and the contributions and sacrifices that military personnel and their families make on our behalf.
Ahead of this year's Veterans Day, YouTube is sharing a new video to honor veterans for their service and all of the things they do every day -- for their families, for their communities, and for our nation. To those of us who haven’t served, Veterans Day is also an opportunity for us to better understand what it means to be a member of the armed forces — in any country — and the contributions and sacrifices that military personnel and their families make on our behalf.
Every Veterans Day, we see a resurgence in popularity of certain video genres on YouTube, including surprise reunions and homecoming videos. Millions of people have been moved by these videos of veterans coming together with their loved ones, so to pay tribute to these special moments, we’re also revealing a list of top viewed veteran homecoming videos on the platform:
- German Shepherd Fetches Ball, Returns to Find His Soldier Home from Deployment (21M+ views)
- Scuba Soldier - Back From Afghanistan Early - Surprises Family (19M+ views)
- Soldier welcomed home by happy dog!!! Drill Weekend (15M+ views)
- Cat Welcomes Home Soldier (awesome) (13M+ views)
- Dog Welcomes Home Soldier...Again (12M+ views)
- Soldier Surprises His Son (9M+ views)
- U.S. Marine Surprises His Sister During College Graduation Ceremony (9M+ views)
- Soldier Surprises Younger Sister At School, Tears Follow (9M+ views)
- Soldier dad surprises son during school assembly (8M+ views)
- Military Son Surprises Dad at 70th Birthday Party (7M+ views)
- A Heartwarming Surprise Military Reunion (7M+ views)
- U.S. Soldier Surprises Her Son During High School Football Game (7M+ views)
- U.S. Soldier Surprises Sister During High School Lunch Raffle (6M+ views)
- Soldiers Surprise Daughter at School Magic Show! (6M+ views)
- Soldier Surprises Mother in Kitchen (6M+ views)
- Airman comes home to handicapped dog from 6 month deployment! (6M+ views)
- Soldier Coming Home; Dog's Reaction (6M+ views)
- Military Mom Surprises Son at School (5M+ views)
- Woman Sobs Uncontrollably at the Surprise Return of Her Husband, a U.S. Army Soldier (5M+ views)
- Surprise Military Family Welcome Home at South Carolina Football Game (5M+ views)
Today and every day, we at YouTube want to say thank you, veterans, for all you have done and continue to do for our country.
Danielle Tiedt, Chief Marketing Office at YouTube, recently watched "Military Hair and Makeup Tutorial."