Thank a Vet

Veterans Day can be a little confusing to many Americans. "Wait, didn't we already have Memorial Day? Didn't we already honor the fallen?" Yes, we certainly did. Veterans Day is not about the fallen. "Oh," some might realize, "it's to honor those who fought whether or not they survived." Yes, it is, but not that alone. The purpose of Veterans day is to commemorate those who served.

Currently we have something like 1.4 million active duty personnel plus another 845,000 reserve personnel. Of those, roughly 40% never get deployed to a combat zone. Most of those who end up in a combat zone never actually encounter the enemy. In the end, then, maybe 10% of the military personnel actually fire a weapon in combat. Veterans Day, then, is aimed at commemorating those who were killed in combat to a small degree -- that's primarily the aim of Memorial Day -- but more so to commemorate those who fought and those who served but didn't fight. Those who fed troops and served in medical capacities, who moved boxes, maintained weapons systems, fixed the motor pool vehicles, managed the massive bureaucracy that the miitary requires ... all of it. It is a big "Thank You" to all who served and not just those who fought. Because all were important and all sacrificed for something bigger than themselves.

We honor mothers on Mothers Day because mothers are important and deserve our thanks. We honor fathers on Fathers Day because fathers are important. We honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defending freedom because they are important. Veterans Day has the same intent for veterans. Now, where is the "Brothers Day" and "Sisters Day", the "Pastors Day" and the "Volunteer Workers Day"? Just a few who deserve our thanks and our recognition. In this way, then, these special days might serve, also, as a reminder than we can be a bit ungrateful at times for all the people in our lives and the blessings we've been given in them. So I'll use this day as a reminder to thank veterans on Veterans Day ... and to thank those who serve anywhere the rest of the year.