November 11th. Veterans Day. A day to remember the real American heroes. Brave men and women who fought bravely for our country. All gave some, some gave all. And today I want to give a big thank you to every single one of them.
Known as Veterans Day in the Unites States, and as Remembrance Day (Or Armistice Day) throughout Europe and the rest of the world, this day was to honor the signing of the Armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
Originally only meant for WW1 veterans, in 1953 a shoe store owner named Al King petitioned to have the day recognize every veteran of every American fought war. After being pushed through Congress, President Eisenhower signed it into law May 26, 1954. Later that year in November the holiday's official name was changed from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. I just found this out today, but the official grammatically correct way to spell it is not Veteran's or Veterans', but Veterans.
So today I would like to thank every person who has fought for this country. Thank you for standing up for my rights as an American citizen. Thank you for defending freedom, even when the decision to defend it isn't a popular one. Without the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, we would not be where we are today.
"I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. DID NOT come back."
~ John Bradley, Navy medic who fought on Iwo Jima and helped raise the flag, to his son James after James' third grade teacher told him that his Dad was a hero.
“I do not believe that the men who served in uniform in Vietnam have been given the credit they deserve. It was a difficult war against an unorthodox enemy.”~ General William C. Westmoreland
“From the War for Independence to today in Iraq and Afghanistan, I am inspired by the courage, professionalism and patriotism of our men and women in uniform.”
Congressmen Tim Ryan - Ohio
HAPPY VETERANS DAY, AND THANK YOU VETERANS!!!
7 comments:
I agree with you whole heartedly Donald. It's a shame that our Government has never treated veterans with the respect and care they deserve. The Vietnam Vets have been some of the most disgracefully treated veterans ever. A large percentage of them were drafted, meaning they had no choice but to be there. Most of them were good soldiers in spite of not choosing that path. They returned to so much hatred and neglect. It is so sad to know how many of them have lived diminished lives since serving our Country in that awful war. So please make sure that they are every bit as honored as the surviving veterans of WWII.
Thank you for this post. It was nice to sit and reflect on the quotes and history of the day. Sadly enough, had you not written this I wouldn't have given today much thought. So, again, thank you for reminding me of the things I have to be grateful for.
Wonderful post Donald. And I too say "Thanks".
What an awesome post! I guess I'll have to go back and change the spelling of "Veteran's" on mine :)
Have you ever read Flags of Our Fathers? You'd probably enjoy that one, I did!
Very nice. Jeff's dad is a Vietnam vet. He was in the navy chasing the Ruskies under water most the time. They did go on Vietnamese soil once. They spent the night and left earlier than they were projected to the next morning. Later that morning the Vietcong bombed it all to smithereens. No survivors, except the sub of men that left earlier that morning.
Oh, and you need to pay your respects to decourseyproject.blogspot.com
This is a very nice post! Thank you. I heart the good ol' USA and all those who have served, now serve, and will serve!
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