I have been on tap to write this Saturday post on this Veterans Day for a while. I have spent time reading individual stories of LIVING veterans. This day is about all those who have served but focusing on the living. I read stories about Gunnery Sergeant Jessie Jane Duff, PFC Marie Daume born in a prison in Siberia, Tennessee Congressman Mark Green who is also a physician and Army Major, and probably at least one hundred others. I also read posts from years past. It was when I read a post that our Kate did nearly a decade ago that it hit me. There are too stories many to tell only one.

We are in increasingly dangerous times. Military recruiting is floundering. Except for the Marines who are meeting their recruiting goals. Still that means that fewer YOUNG men and women are willing to sign a check to our goat rodeo of a government up to and including their lives. We owe them so much. They live in moldy barracks. They could make more as a barista since the average Private makes just over $11.00 per hour. And, yet there are young people who still sign up to serve. To carry heavy rucks in all weather. Too train constantly and continue their education. To go where they are told.

Stop and think about that today, November 11 at 11 o’clock in the morning. The generations who have slogged through trenches, faced cannons and hand grenades and who have cleared tunnels so that we can rest easy. Why November 11 at 11:00? It began with the end of World War I:

Armistice Day, known now as Veterans Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in the U.K. and British Commonwealth, is observed on November 11 each year. It is a poignant reminder of the historic ceasefire that ended hostilities on the Western Front of World War I.

The Armistice itself, signed in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne, 80 miles north of Paris, went into effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, symbolizing a hopeful peace after unprecedented carnage and destruction that had begun four long years before. Over time, the date has evolved to commemorate the service of millions of military personnel in that war and the many wars that have followed.

For all of those who think of veterans as the old men riding on floats. These men and women are veterans too. Those in the National Guard and Reserves are veterans. Those honorably discharged are veterans.

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served! pic.twitter.com/zjquYWOotH

— CrackerJack (@KoltRoyce) November 10, 2023

Naturally, veterans have differing emotions on their service:

“Veterans Day. I served 37 years, 1st as an Infantry officer, then a doctor, a commanding officer, then in the Pentagon. I always feel guilty when thanked for my service because frankly, I had a helluva ride. Salute to all who served and their families, who also sacrificed.” -… pic.twitter.com/DHS2jgWDK2

— A Soldier's Whisper (@SoldiersWhisper) November 10, 2023

This year the 82nd Airborne Division, All American Chorus competed on America’s Got Talent, a show I don’t normally watch. I suspect the Chorus was entered to help with recruiting because they look great. Here is one of their performances. By the by, I don’t want to hear that their berets are not sufficiently over their right eyes. I also see the improperly bloused trousers:

Howie Mandel is right. We are here because they are here. The “watchers on the walls” and for that we are grateful. As Kate wrote:

Today, we honor America’s veterans, young and old, who enable us to experience life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness as our founders intended. We remember acts of uncommon bravery and selflessness. We remember veteran families who kept the home fires burning whilst waiting for their loved ones to come back home. We are a grateful nation.

They have been the “watchers on our walls” since our nation’s birth: men who left behind farms and families, marching on foot at night, whilst fighting the enemy all-day-every-day for years. They had no real gear or functioning weaponry back then. They had limited supplies, no winter clothing, and some wore rags for shoes. They were even mocked relentlessly by their adversary. But… they had great heart and wanted freedom more than the enemy wanted tyranny. Fast forward two+ centuries later, and our military is the best fighting force in the world. They’ve brought hope to the oppressed and delivered justice to the violent across the globe — all the while we at home have slept safely in our beds at night.

One day a year is the least we can do. Thank you!

Featured Image: Toni Williams/All Rights Reserved