Thank you

Today marks another anniversary of the famed "Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month", when the armistice ending World War I was officially signed. Veteran's Day, as this anniversary came to be known in 1954, tends to pass essentially unnoticed by most of us these days. Gone are the times when we enthusiastically, and regularly, celebrated our men and women in uniform, the days when parades of bemedaled military heroes marching past sidewalks crowded with applauding citizens were the rule, and not the exception.

I'm sure that a lot of that apathy is because of the battles waged since World War II themselves, military engagements whose purpose and objectives have grown increasingly murky through these subsequent decades. Several of those fights, including Vietnam and Iraq Part Deux, have been deserving of our condemnation and vigorous opposition.

But I think we need to remember that our soldiers are not responsible for the stupidities of the governments that too often put them in harm's way for the wrong reasons. The troops really do deserve more of our public support because they have an impossible job, forced to adhere to their "patriotic duty", even when they don't necessarily agree with the motives of those who've assigned them the dangerous task at hand.

That's a distinction that most of my generation failed to grasp in the 60's and 70's when we unjustly demonized our soldiers while justifiably expressing our anger at the war itself. We, more than any generation before, helped to relegate Veteran's Day to the slagheap of "distasteful" rituals, decrying it as an antiquated celebration of repulsive military bluster. And for that shortsightedness, we should forever apologize to those vets of Southest Asia who were so poorly treated upon their safe return from battle.

Sure, some of that "glorification of war" existed in those yearly parades, but the idea of annually honoring those who've served in combat has always been about far more than just that. It is a moment to thank all of our sons and daughters and parents and uncles and grandfathers for having had the courage to answer the call, without hesitation, willing to pay the ultimate price to protect all of us who casually benefit from their dedication and sacrifice.

My late father was a veteran of World War II, a survivor of some of the bloodiest fighting in the European Theater, a recipient of two Bronze Stars. He was a fervent believer in the just nature of the Allied cause, an eager volunteer for infantry service, a Patriot with a capital "P" who laid it all on the line for his country.

And yet, even during what we've come to believe was the last war with a clearly defined sense of right and wrong, the last era of universal support for the heroic efforts of the grunts on the ground, he (like many others) found reasons to be disgusted with the ingratitude of the average citizen. In a letter to his younger brother, shortly after returning to the U.S. in 1946, he wrote,

"Listen, lad, if you can possibly get out of going overseas you might as well do it. Don't be a damn fool like I was and try to go because it's heroic -- it's just rough and it's unpleasant, so why do it if you don't have to. I'll tell you right now, that nobody will thank you for going over -- I've found out already that people don't give a damn what you do for them. So why go overseas so the American people will be safe -- they're not worth it. Think only of yourself and your loved ones and you'll get a lot more done in this world."

Admittedly, this outburst must have bubbled to the surface during one of Dad's more cynical moments. But he thereafter remained suspicious of government saber-rattling until his dying day, and opposed to the idea of military service for his three sons. I don't know if he ever truly got over the feeling that the sacrifices and balls-to-the-wall courage of his generation were not genuinely appreciated by a selfish public.

So today, help me to prove Dad at least partially wrong, and ease his mind just a bit wherever he is in the great hereafter. Take a moment and reflect on what we all owe to our military veterans, young and old, and to the courage they've shown (and continue to show) in safeguarding our nation. Let's remember to renew our dedication to never putting them in harm's way unless absolutely necessary, and to separate our respect for their service from our opinions of the conflict in which they've been ordered to take part. Let's be sure they know that we really do give a damn.

All it takes to start is a simple "Thank you."