Honoring Those Who Served
It was at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918 that the Great War ended with the signing of an armistice agreement. What we now call World War I came to an end.
The following year, President Woodrow Wilson issued an order proclaiming November 11th to be Armistice Day, a day to remember those who served. Not long after, it became a national holiday, ultimately taking the name “Veterans Day” in 1954.
We honor those who served…so that some of us did not have to…and so all of us could live free. This year’s observance, coming in the same week as election day, makes that point even clearer.
Today is November 11th…two days from now, November 13th, marks the 80th anniversary of the tragic date in 1942 when the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo—George, Frank, Joe, Matt, and Al—perished together on the USS Juneau. Their parents did not learn of their fate for a full two months…security required that the Navy not reveal of loss of a ship so as not to provide information to the enemy…but ultimately, on January 12, 1943, three men in uniform came to the Sullivan family home with the tragic news.
The Navy soon after named a destroyer USS The Sullivans…the first time an American Navy ship was named after more than one person.
In one respect, setting aside a single day as a national holiday to honor those who served seems quite appropriate. But our gratitude should not, and can not, be limited to that single day. Our debt of gratitude is far greater than that.
