Veteran's Day
Today is Veteran's Day. For an excellent description of how this day is distinct from others, and particularly, Memorial Day, the USO has a great article here: https://www.uso.org/stories/2522-understanding-the-difference-of-memorial-day-vs-veterans-day
Both national holidays - Memorial Day and Veteran's Day - were born from tragedy. The former emerged from the Civil War. Prior to that there were only 4th of July celebrations. That's not to state there weren't major wars, because there were. My own ancestors arrived with the 2nd Charter of Virginia and have fought in every national conflict, starting with the American Revolution, since. The scars of the Civil War on our nation are well-documented, and in particular, the trauma of losing so many fellow Americans in many towns and cities. It was a distinctly American war, fought for the soul of these "United" States, that our diversity should not preclude our unity.
Veteran's Day was born with the first remembrance of The Great War, also known as the War to End All Wars...which in hindsight we now know as World War I (WW1). World War I was an important war for many reasons, and it was significant not only for a poor management of peace, but also for it's aftermath. Because we now look back on the scale and substance of WW2, we tend to view WW1 with a diminutive lens. We know it to be important, but don't consider it as impactful. But we are wrong. Living through the aftermath of WW1 but prior to WW2, would have revealed both a disbelief at the brutality and a determination to remember and avoid future brutalities at all cost. One of the reasons why Veteran's Day was established on the anniversary of Armistice Day wasn't a mere commemoration of the end of WW1, but a recognition of the price - not just in death, but in trauma - all soldiers are willing to pay by serving. That willingness deserved national recognition that the price would be worth the sacrifice, and that appreciation for serving was shared by those who reaped the benefits. In this, an army cook and an infantryman, navy mechanic and pilot, marine officer and grunt, air force mp and general, are no different. All merit honor. It is the willingness to serve, embracing both experienced and potential trauma in the living, that we honor.
I'm surrounded by family and friends who are vets. From my wife to in-laws, son to uncles and aunts, friends who are Christians and non-Christians, the willingness to step into the breach is deserving of recognition and honor. Whatever your motivation for enlisting, or your means for surviving through the experience (short or long military career), and however petty you experienced those over or under you (yes, it turns out people can be sinful and have poor character despite whatever uniform they wear), you said, "yes" to taking orders, and serving in a rank, in a collective ongoing effort to guard the breach. In looking back at vets who served in wars in the past and walked away carrying wounds seen and unseen, we better understand what it means to be willing to serve as a soldier.
We live in a dangerous world. It's easy to forget that, to do so is to put ourselves in peril. National vigilance should be maintained and honored. Soldiers across generations share a specific bond, sometimes difficult to articulate, though rarely without mutual understanding. Veterans Day is for the living, not the fallen. Though it is, at times, a thin distinction, it is nonetheless worthwhile. To all veterans, including those I know and love and those I don't know: Thank you.
