Veterans Day Unites All Americans

Veterans Day is a federal holiday to honor all military veterans who served with honor and to thank them for their service.  It is also a day to honor not only those who served, but also those who continue to serve, the members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the Air Force.  It includes the members of the Active forces, the Reserve, and the National Guard.  Though technically not part of the Department of Defense, we also include members of the U.S. Coast Guard who defend our homeland.

This annual holiday unites us as Americans, something that is so needed and important today.  On Veterans Day we celebrate our unity. There is far too much seeking to divide us.  Partisan politics, controversial social issues, and other contentious points—many of which are fed by the availability and relative anonymity of social media—can push us into our respective corners.

Veterans Day does the opposite of that.  This day does two things, among others:  It unites the veterans who served and reminds them of the comradery and unique bonds that come from military service.  Military service is a unique brotherhood and sisterhood.  Second, Veterans Day takes everyone else in the nation and provides a bond of grateful citizenship that transcends all other differences.  No matter our political stripes and personal opinions, thanking those who served in the Armed Forces seems to be something on which every American can agree.  Thank God for that!

During my entire time assigned to the Pentagon, and later as I served in Casualty Affairs at Dover Air Force Base, I kept this quote on my desk so that it was constantly in front of me as I worked.  It was written by a young Army Captain named Kyle Comfort.  He was part of the 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment and was killed in action on May 8, 2010, during my time at the Pentagon.

America, sleep soundly tonight.  The Soldiers of Bravo Company will tuck you in with the power of freedom and all that it offers.  They will ask nothing in return of you and it is likely they never will.  When you see these few, these happy few, tell them you love them for their sacrifice and that you slept well tonight.

The sacrifice borne by veterans is not always understood by many Americans who did not serve in the military.  Separation from families, missing key moments in the lives of your children due to deployments or training, demanding physical requirements, and never being paid as much as you could earn in the civilian world is part of military service. Sometimes it involves watching the horrors of war up close and personal, including watching friends die in foreign lands.  Unfortunately, fractured and failed marriages are often the result of the stress of military life and frequent deployments.

Military service and sacrifice can be total:  dying for one’s country.  Our Gold Star families know the deep grief that comes with this.  However, most of the time, serving the nation in uniform involves wounds—some in the body but, more often than not, in the mind and heart.  Military service has its own unique challenges.  Everyone who signs up is aware of this.  Our veterans accept this reality and choose to serve anyway.  That alone calls for the respect and gratitude of all Americans.  What is so heartwarming is that the American people gladly and freely give that respect and gratitude.

Patriotism still lives.  We see it in those who wear the uniform.  But we also see it in the lives and faces of those who did not serve but who are filled with love of country and an understanding of what it means to be a veteran.  The United States is still the international beacon of justice, freedom, and hope.  All of us are given the opportunity to represent that in our lives.

Happy Veterans Day!