Happy Veterans' Day

Happy Veterans' Day to all of you who have served or are serving to protect our country. Today we, as a nation, should take the time to honor all of our hero's who have protected our country. It is because of all of our Veteran's sacrifices that we have the freedom to say mostly what we want and to travel where we want. We have the freedom to vote for who we want, we can worship where we want, and we can protest if we want.

There are many times that I have heard people complain about the "military" not doing what they should, or misbehaving on foreign soil. Some people do not even like our men and women who have served or are serving in the military. They are more than entitled to their opinion, but in all honesty, these people who complain, are complaining BECAUSE of what our brave soldiers have done. If it were not for our soldiers standing up to protect our freedom, we wouldn't have the ability to complain about anything.

As you may remember (from your history books...no, we are not all that old...) 91 years ago, Veterans' Day was originally called Armistice Day to mark the official cessation of hostilities in World War I. That ceasefire came on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. The actual peace treaty was not signed until the following year, but the for original moment of peace, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th, Armistice Day. This was originally a time for prayer, thanksgiving and appreciation for the sacrifice of those lost. Normal business was to cease only for a few minutes around the armistice time.

Nineteen years later Congress turned November 11th into a federal holiday to honor all veterans of World War I. Following the end of the Korean War (in 1954), the word "Veterans" replaced the word "Armistice" in the holiday legislation.

Did you know that there is only one living veteran in the United States from World War I? We need to be particularly aware of our veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam as they are all getting older. These wars are our history, and these veterans have seen much. Each time I have the opportunity to talk to a veteran, from any war, I am amazed about how much more I learn about that microcosm in time. You get general information in your history books, but by talking to veterans of wars, and listening to their memories, the dry history comes alive.

Take the opportunity to thank our veterans for all that they have done to preserve our rights and freedoms. They are the ones who have stood on the wall at night, protecting us from all types of evil, so that we can sleep peacefully. Even though today we are honoring those who have served, take the time out of your day to also thank those who are currently in harm's way. It is also because of them that we are living in relative peace and prosperity now.

There are approximately 23.2 million military veterans in the United States
9.2 million veterans are over the age of 65
1.9 million veterans are under the age of 35
1.8 million veterans are women
7.8 million veterans served during the Vietnam War era (1964-1975) which represents about 33% of all living veterans
5.2 million veterans served during the Gulf War (from August 2, 1990 to present)

Have a Happy Veterans' Day - remember to thank those who have served and salute our fallen heroes.

Until tomorrow...