Beyond the long hours, less-than-stellar pay and non-existent future, there are some perks to being a journalist.

You get to go to cool events — and get paid for it! Yesterday, I had the best seat in the house for the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Wall Memorial.

I was there to write a story and to grab some audio. I succeeded on both fronts, but I also got to do something I haven’t done before: actually observe Veterans Day and attempt to understand what the day means to the millions of veterans in this country.

For most people, Veterans Day is just a holiday and a day off of work. But standing there watching notable veterans like Gen. Colin Powell, Sen. Chuck Hagel, Edie Meeks of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation and others tell their stories about the war and what the Wall means to them was something I’ll never forget.

The Wall means something different to Vietnam Veterans. I could hear it in Powell’s voice as his voice began to crack during his final, moving story about a photo frame and note left at the wall for a father who never saw his son grow up. I could see it on the tear-stained faces of the veterans who gathered at the memorial.

Yes, I did work on Veteran’s Day, and yes, I put in long hours. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and because I am a journalist, I had a much better access to the event and was able to stand in the center, looking out at both sides of the wall — a perfect view.

It’s the kind of experience that us journalists have from time to time, and it’s one of the best parts of being a journalist. If you’re a j-student, mark this in the “pro” column.

You can read my story and hear the audio of the best speeches from the event at http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50224. We also had two other stories from the weekend’s events on the site and a photo gallery. All are online exclusives.

Update: We added a second photo gallery because there were a lot of people at the Wall on Monday. We also added a story from our European bureau about how U.S. troops in Bamberg, Germany spent Veterans Day, a non-online exclusive.