Today, November 11, 2019, is the 101st anniversary of Veterans Day, celebrated in the United States. Originally known as Armistice Day, it was set to honor the end of World War I, which happened on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. It became a legal holiday in the U.S. in 1938 and was renamed as Veterans Day in 1954.
It is our opportunity to thank and celebrate all those who have served our country in military service. Thank you for your service!
Fun Fridays – November 8, 2019
Steve, thank you for honoring our veterans on this day. I served our country for 20 years. God bless you
Thank you Mr. Steve, and team. God’s blessings.
Thank you, Steve, for this post. We have relatives currently serving our country.
It was an ugly little war
and yet, you sent them there.
How much time will pass before
you come to visit, if you dare?
You can find them, if you like
placed individually.
By panel and row, Juan, Earl and Mike,
dying chronologically.
And you can touch their graven names;
they won’t mind, will make no sound,
but beware the soul-fire flames
if you look beyond.
Behind the letters, you’re reflected
in the gentle heroes you rejected.
– November 11, 2019
How sad, Andrew. Not everyone rejected them.
No, Sharon, not everyone.
Please take time to honor all those who have served in the past, died for the country they served, and those that live on to tell the story. God bless them all.
A fitting way to celebrate the bravery of those who fought and our indebtedness for the peace and freedom they contributed to our world.
The nature of our relationship with the veterans has changed enormously in the past 90 years. In the 1930s, we sent our own active-duty troops against encamped veterans in Washington who were demanding the fulfillment of promises due them. After the second world war, veterans were venerated, and that respect carried over into the next police action we fought. By the end of Vietnam, the country was almost as divided as it is today, and we professionalized the armed forces, ending our citizen army.
Since then, flag waving and thanks for everyone’s service have become cliches espoused by practically everyone, even as the repertoire of our non-wars expanded into continuous ongoing conflict in more loci than nonprofessionals can track. I thank those who have served our country in our armed forces, but more and more I question whether the actions of our well intentioned, usually young and wonderful people, are truly serving to make our country safer, more respected, and more of a beacon of hope and freedom to those poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free. I bemoan every young life of our people that is stunted or cut short half a world away from home. And I suspect our nation has become more a bane than a beacon to many millions, compared to seventy years ago.
I pray for our servicemen and -women, for their civilian and military leaders, and for our country, that our military actions now and in the future might be something that our Lord Jesus Christ might approve.
National Service was a useful experience and to lead the regiment’s transport section, 35 men and vehicles, when aged just 19, was a privilege. The centurion tank was a leader in its time.
My autobiography, “Blowing My Own Trumpet” tells more. Enjoy.
My husband served two years in the U.S. Navy. Thank you, Frank, and all others who have served our country. Happy Veterans Day to everyone.
Thank you for saluting our vets, Steve. As the daughter of a vet, the ex-wife of a vet, and the mother of a vet, I appreciate it.