Veterans Day

In 1954, the United States re-designated the 11th of November as Veterans Day. Prior to then, the day had been known as Armistice day, and was intended to remind people of the absolute madness that had been The Great War. The intention, as express by then President Woodrow Wilson, was:

To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.

While the re-designation to celebrate all US Veterans makes sense to our country, I often wonder if we miss the importance of the day? Do we lose the connection that we forged in 1918?

Today we have the pedantic people who will always post the meme about “What Veterans day, Memorial day and Armed Forces Day mean” and inform you that if you celebrate any of them “incorrectly” that you are somehow being disrespectful.

But I submit to you that, in the midst of all the freebies and benefits that Veterans will receive this weekend, it might be appropriate to recall the 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, when the guns of August finally fell silent. But only after the death of as many as nearly five million military casualties on the Allied side.

Today, we have forgotten that cost. More importantly, we have forgotten the incredible stupidity of The Great War that led to those costs. which is why if you pass a VFW Post Member today, they will ask you to wear a poppy flower.

Because, it’s NOT just Veterans Day. It’s Armistice Day and Remembrance Day. We should take a moment before we dive into that free meal or desert, and remember that a century ago, our forefathers scarified to secure the liberty we enjoy today.

It is neither “wrong,” nor “insulting” to bow our heads and recall the fallen today.

Or… any other day for that matter…