Today I give a Veteran’s Day Tribute to all those who have served. I salute all veterans—no matter where they served nor how long.
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, hostilities ceased in the Great War. In 1926, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution to observe the day in remembrance “with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.” November 11th became a legal holiday in 1938. The holiday was “to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day”” After WWII and the conflict in Korea, Congress amended the bill and the holiday to honor all veterans of all wars and changed the holiday’s name to Veteran’s Day.
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America’ for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’ That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.
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Image Credit: Cpl. Jemssy Alvarez Jr. (reference) [Public domain]
No matter your politics, nor your views of the worthiness of a particular war, battle or conflict our veterans served all who call the United States of America their home.
(DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin B. Gray, U.S. Navy/Released)
While only one day of the year is dedicated solely to honoring our veterans, Americans must never forget the sacrifices that many of our fellow countrymen have made to defend our country and protect our freedoms.
Randy Neugebauer
“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”
Maya Angelou
In 1944, Mr. Hope saw only men serving on the front line. Today, he’d amend his statement.
“I saw your sons and your husbands, your brothers and your sweethearts. I saw how they worked, played, fought, and lived. I saw some of them die. I saw more courage, more good humor in the face of discomfort, more love in an era of hate, and more devotion to duty than could exist under tyranny.”
Bob Hope, “I Never Left Home”
Today, Mr. Hope would include wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters.
Today we honor them all: Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman or woman, Guardsman or woman, and Reservist. They stepped up to serve their country.
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
Arthur Ashe
Those who serve in our military are rarely the only person who sacrifices.
I’m trying to raise the awareness of the troops that, when they deploy and go to war, it’s not just them at war – it’s also their family. Their family is having to go through all the hardships and the stresses.
Chris Kyle
Those who’ve completed their service deserve a salute, too. Large and small sacrifices live on in the memories of the service person and their families.
The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.
Douglas MacArthur
“Whatever gains are secured, it is loss the veteran remembers most keenly. Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes the merciless reality of war.”
Senator John McCain
In a Veteran’s Day tribute, we must also remember the veterans who need a little assistance. A home, a meal, a pair of shoes aren’t too much for us to give back. It is our duty and privilege as a nation to provide financial, medical and psychological care and support for all our veterans.
Caring for veterans shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It should an American one.
Jennifer Granholm
In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.
José Narosky
Think about that last quote. And give a Veteran’s Day tribute to those who served our nation today and every day.