THEY DESERVE IT

Many call it Veterans Day [no apostrophe s].
Some call it Armistice Day.
Overseas it is commonly called Remembrance Day.

In any case, as most everyone knows, 11 November is the anniversary of the day which ended the Great War.

In the United States, the official purpose of the day is to honor all Veterans of the American Armed Forces: past and present; living and dead.
The operative word here is all.

Fox News reported tonite that one Vet is still alive from the War to End All Wars.
One wonders today at the naiveté of folks in those days who could believe such propaganda.

At any rate, the young men of early last century went off to war, whether or not they believed.

They went for all sorts of reasons, as the young soldiers do today, for a variety of reasons.

There is a saying: “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Well, those of us who stay behind can and do a great deal more than just stand and wait, and one of those things should be to remember those who have worn the uniform.

Tom Brokaw has it wrong.

The WW2 Generation was not the Greatest Generation.
Rather, it was one of the Great Generations, one of the many that have gone before and that will come in the future.

Many young American men and women are still doing what many have always done: they are answering the call to defend their country; their way of life; those things they hold dear; even the welfare of people in various foreign parts of the world.

We should take special care to remember such Americans on this day; to remind ourselves that it is not only wealth and oil and oceans that keep us safe.
We should remember that it is the willingness of our “Thin Red Line”, as the British used to say, that stands between the civilized world and the enemies thereof.

If you didn’t do so on 11 November, thank the next Vet you see for his or her service.

He or she deserves it.