What Does Veterans Day Mean?
World War One ended on the 11thhour of the 11thday of the 11thmonth in 1918. Since then 11 November has been designated Veterans Day. This is different than Memorial Day. Memorial Day honors those who gave their life in defense of the country. Veterans day honors those who served in the military. Today, the smallest percentage of the population has served or is serving in the military for the last 100 years.
The highest point of recognition from the public for military service was as at the end of WW II. This was due to the entire country mobilizing industry to support the effort, plus the massive size of people in the military. The lowest came but 25 years later in the later stages of the Vietnam war. Military people were scorned and ridiculed by groups.
A very large percentage of the military is made up people under the age of 25. Very few have any direct impact on strategic decisions. Yet, they were the ones who took the brunt of the negative vitriol from Vietnam.
Today the military gets an abundance of positive recognition in industry, at sporting events and especially on television.
We have been at war for 15 years. The casualty rate has been very low relative to our previous wars. Even one death overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan gets some mention in the news, maybe even specifically identifying the name of the person. During Vietnam, we averaged 100 KILLED PER WEEK for 9 years. That does not include those who were injured. A good percentage of that young group may not have even wanted to be in the military as we still had a draft.
Take a moment to think of a veteran you know in your life.
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