This is not about whether you support war or are a pacifist that believes that war is never the right decision. Today is not about the rationality of war. It is about the men and women who have seen the tragedy and travesty of war first hand and what the experience of war is, was, and will continue to be for those who have been to the front lines.
The origin of Veteran’s day being held on November 11th dates back to the end of WWI, the first modern war. This day was known as Armistice Day and was to represent the day that signified the what was hoped to be the “war to end all wars.” On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month in 1918, the world knew peace once again.
Yes, this world has seen countless wars since that day in 1918. Millions have fought one another, and millions have died. Yet, this day is not about the ideological grounds that wars have been declared upon, nor religious differences. This is not a day that is a politicians platform, nor a day that is for the liberal, the conservative, the righteous or the corrupt. It is a day that we the people are given as a reminder that war exists and that those who are at the front lines experience events that most of us will never understand, and hopefully never have to experience ourselves. Perhaps this is a day where we should take a moment and contemplate what these words by a Veteran of WWII, “I do not remember what I read this morning, but the events of those days will be forever burned upon my soul.” And perhaps on this particular day, today, we should reflect back to Armistice Day in its original intent, that veterans often carry with them images and memories, emotions and reflections that are burned on their soul, which many of us can never comprehend and that they may never be able to share or shake the rest of their lives.
On the eleventh hour on the eleventh day in the eleventh month during the eleventh year of our second millennium, perhaps we should take a moment of silence and reflection for ALL of the veterans of the world, not just those that are American, and remember that every man, woman, and child that has directly experienced war is a veteran who carry with them the images of a war to end all wars.
Chances are you know a veteran…..
