From the spooky season of October to the season of gratitude in November and the season of giving December, the holiday season is indeed an exciting time to reflect upon old memories while simultaneously creating new ones.
However when it comes to recollecting the days of old, what about the days and sacrifices of those before us? Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, one holiday that sadly goes overlooked sometimes is Veteran’s Day.
Over the past century, our country has celebrated the hard work, dedication and often the sacrifices of those who fought for the safety of our nation. In 1919, it was referred to as Armistice Day and was held on the eleventh day of the eleventh month to celebrate the end of the first world war. In 1926, Congress passed a resolution for Nov. 11 to be a day of observance and Armistice Day became a national holiday twelve years later.
Sixteen years after that, President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the holiday Veteran’s Day. Since then, it has been known as a day to remember those who served in the military to keep our country the land of the free, even at the cost of their own lives.
Today, roughly 100 years after its inception, Veteran’s Day is still celebrated all over the nation by people young and old, black or white, democrat or republican. Especially approaching Thanksgiving, Veteran’s Day is the perfect opportunity to put aside any and all differences you may have with your family and peers and simply feel grateful for what men and women have done for this country.
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Chairman of the United War Veterans Council board, Doug McGowen told the New York Press, “this is a day when we put politics aside to focus on honoring our veterans and to recommit ourselves as a community to providing them with the services they have earned, the services they deserve and for many, the services they were denied,”
For the 100th Veteran’s Day, a parade will be held in New York CIty to commemorate a century of paying tribute to the veterans. President Trump himself will be attending, the next in a long line of presidential visits to commemorate those in the armed forces. Other notable ones in recent times include Barack Obama spending the day with troops on board the USS Carl Vinson in 2011 and George W. Bush devoting his time at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in NYC in 2008.
So whether you attend a local parade, or simply stop to say “thank you” to someone who served, don’t allow this Veteran’s Day to just be another step on the way to Christmas. This week take some time to reflect and be grateful for the blood sweat and tears that these brave men and women endured for the sake of our nation.
Samuel J. Claude
Managing Editor