In Fallujah, Baghdad and Mosul, in Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad, and in a hundred other places from Latin and South America to the South Pacific, soldiers are marching under the banner of the United States.
On Veterans Day, the country comes together to honor its living veterans.
Our minds are heavy with thoughts of the members of the 133rd Engineer Battalion, the 619th Transportation Co. and the scores of other men and women who are serving in harm’s way.
Veterans Day is not a day of mourning, however. It’s a celebration and day of recognition for those who have put on a uniform and served their country during war or peace.
In Lewiston this year, two new monument stones at Veterans Park were unveiled to honor veterans of World War II. Time is running out to say thank you to many of these vets.
Of the almost 5 million men who served during World War I, there are only about 200 still living today. Only one in four of the 16 million World War II vets are still with us; their numbers dwindle daily.
More than 3.5 million served in Korea, 8 million in Vietnam and about 2.3 million in the Gulf War. Conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere against terrorists have added more than 865,000 new combat veterans.
In 1954, President Eisenhower signed a bill that designated Nov. 11, formerly Armistice Day, as Veterans Day. In 1968, Congress changed the date to the fourth Monday of October but the change never took. In 1978, Congress moved the observance back to Nov. 11.
Many U.S. soldiers face terrible hardships. They are separated from their families and friends, facing a deadly enemy in foreign lands.
At home, the country is still working to heal the wounds of a divisive election in which the war was a central issue. Support, however, for the men and women who serve in the military has never wavered.
Today, on Veterans Day, we salute their service with a holiday, but we should remember their sacrifices every day.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
