On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the guns of World War I fell silent. President Woodrow Wilson soon marked the anniversary as Armistice Day, urging Americans to reflect with “solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory.” In 1954, after World War II and the Korean War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it Veterans Day so that “a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation.”
That precedent of gratitude has roots much further back. In his June 8, 1783 Circular Letter of Farewell, George Washington reminded the nation that care for those who had served was “the price of their blood and of your independency.” From the Revolution through every conflict since, more than 40 million Americans have answered the call as soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines.
The Korean War Memorial in Washington still declares what every generation has learned at great cost: “Freedom is not free.” Veterans Day is our annual reminder to give thanks to the men and women who sacrificed so much for this nation.
This November 11, take a concrete step of thanks. Talk with a veteran or active-duty service member. Visit those in nursing homes who may have no remaining family. Attend a local parade or ceremony. Pray for military families carrying the quiet burdens of deployment and loss. And teach the rising generation why the day matters: so that the sacrifices of the past will not have been in vain.
Thank you for standing with us to honor America’s veterans and to keep their legacy alive.
