IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
# 300
November 11, 2023
“Eleven Eleven”
And so it was. At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1919, we began to celebrate Veterans Day. To celebrate the end of World War I in 1918, November 11 was known as Armistice Day. Further commemorated in 1921 with the burial of an unknown soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Not to be ignored, Italy and Portugal England and France also had similar ceremonies. The previous year, unknown soldiers had been interred at not only Westminster Abbey in London, England, but also at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
Although Armistice Day became a legal American holiday in 1938, its name was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all those who had served in all U.S. wars. To this day, ceremonies are held on November 11 to honor those men and women. With the placing of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, similar ceremonies fan out across the nation in tribute to those who sacrificed to insure our freedom.
As you walk or drive by a cemetery and see Old Glory fluttering across stone markers, recall that each flag flies to honor a fallen Soldier, sailor, Marine, Merchant Mariner or Coast Guardsman.
Wars inflict great physical damage on returning veterans. Some died instantly, but many others suffered unbelievably. In sum, each life was given for us. Beyond outer scars, the emotional damage, hidden to view, is all too real. The mental anguish and incessant nightmares that plague so many are not to be ignored, either.
We need to honor our veterans with more than one day. Yes, we need to stop and thank those wearing caps designating service, but we need to assiduously petition our government to support them. We manage to fund inane projects, yet it took the former president to push for better health care for our veterans. How sad.
Even more bizarre is the fact that any number of worthy groups ask Americans for a monthly contribution to fund projects ranging from paying off mortgages for surviving families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice to giving veterans an opportunity to join with peers in outdoor activities they thought impossible considering their injuries.
Why is it that our government has what seems to be limitless funds to house, feed, and provide healthcare for people who entered our country illegally? Although no firm figure has been given for the amount spent on them, those dollars would be far better utilized taking care of those men and women who volunteered to protect us.
As you stop tomorrow to glance at the television or listen to a radio broadcast highlighting the importance of this day, take a breath and remember just what these – forebearers as well as contemporaries – have bequeathed you.
You are the recipient of the most valuable gift on earth: freedom in a country founded on God’s principles, by God-fearing men who sought to dislodge themselves and their countrymen from an overarching and punitive government. Begin today. Make a personal commitment that you will instill respect for those who serve among your friends and within your family. It is an honorable pursuit and one that will fuel your love of country.
Currently, when patriotism wanes more than I ever thought that it could, we all need to make sure that real history – not a stilted and edited version – is being taught in our schools. As a former history teacher, I can tell you that the curricula today pales in comparison with what I received in post-World War II America. Only facts prepare us to learn from past errors. As I told so many of my students, history is a road of warning signs. If you heed these signs, you are not doomed to repeat the costly mistakes of the past. Just as you would retrace your steps if lost in the woods, so, too, should you look at past events to have a good understanding of what comes next. A litany, if you will, of the decisions that lead to a catastrophic military involvement –- in one word -– war.
We do not need to don a Kevlar vest and shoulder a rifle, because so many others have done that for us. Each and every one deserves our praise and our prayers.
I close with a comment heard so often in the past: “Lest we forget…”
Think about it.