November 11 is officially Veterans Day here in America. Begun back in 1926 in honor of the end of World War I, "the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals"Source, the day is intended to honor all military veterans. It is differentiated from Memorial Day. That day is to honor all fallen military folk. This one is "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace" by honoring those who have seen active duty in the military, whether in conflict or peace time.
We easily recognize the combat heroes like those who earn the Congressional Medal of Honor. Less common is the every day veteran who served his or her country. Many of these folk may not have fired a weapon or been shot at. They didn't face harrowing circumstances or come close to death. They served food, drove vehicles, repaired aircraft, managed paperwork, any of thousands of behind-the-scenes, thankless jobs that made the job of the combat troops possible. Without these folks, the military wouldn't function.
World peace is a good thing. Peace, though quite valuable, is not free. It always comes at a price -- sometimes a great price. And we are usually pretty good at recognizing those who pay those highest of prices. We applaud those who are in harm's way, standing for what is right, standing for freedom. We honor those who give the ultimate price -- their lives. Veterans Day is a day to honor the forgotten rest. They're in among us now. They served here and there and everywhere. They served without notice, sacrificed without being obvious. Some fought and some died, but more hardly held a weapon. They have done their jobs for peace. For that, to all veterans, I say thanks.
2 comments:
I have always thought all actual veterans should have a day off work for Veterans Day. And, ideally, it would be a day off with pay, with the government footing the bill. Yeah, I know; this would be very complicated. Some vets are unemployed, some retired, some are students, but it's a nice thought, isn't it?
Every year, while I'm usually home and our 3 kids are always out of school for it, unless he uses a vacation day, my husband, a Viet Nam War vet, still must get up bright and early, like every other M-F, and head out the door for work on whatever week day has been set aside to make it a 3 or 4 day weekend in which we are supposed to be honoring Veterans like him.
I know it's just another day for him and he certainly expects nothing out of the ordinary, but it seems that ought not be so. At the very least, maybe we should try to have a nicer-than-usual dinner awaiting him tonight and all sit down at the table together to eat it, like people try to do on certain other special holidays meant to have a focus on thankfulness, on this day WE all have off because of people like him.
Thank you, Veterans. Thank you so very much.
I agree. Of course, it's easy for me to agree. I happen to work someplace that gives us the day off. On the other hand, they give everyone the day off. Shouldn't it just be the veterans? Nah!
Thanks to your husband. (Vietnam vets got the real short end of the stick.)
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