What is a Veteran?
"A 'Veteran' - whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of 'up to and including his/her life'. That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact."
My Father is a Veteran, my Grandfather, my son, my brother, my great-Uncle and countless friends. I believe these men and women should be honored every day, not just one day of the year. It takes someone very special to be willing to sacrifice and give of their lives for their country, for our freedom.
History of Veterans Day
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”
Veterans Day is an official Federal Holiday here in the United States, observed annually on November 11. It also coincides with Armistice Day and/or Remembrance Day. But should not be confused with Memorial Day. Veterans Day is celebrating the service of ALL men and women in the Armed Forces, while Memorial Day is specifically for honoring those that gave their lives or perished.
The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies.[2] A Congressional Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U.S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday: "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."[3] Congress amended the bill on June 1, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with "Veterans," and it has been known as Veterans Day since.[5][6]
Non-essential federal government offices are closed. No mail is delivered. All federal workers are paid for the holiday; those who are required to work on the holiday sometimes receive holiday pay for that day in addition to their wages.
To be a soldier is one of the most Honorable things any person can do. Whether it's for our country or for another country. These men and women are brave and self-less. Visit the VA.gov, you'll find wonderful and amazing stories of men and women that fought for our freedoms.
"A soldier is a man or woman who selflessly devotes their life to ensure that all citizens of their country can sleep with peace of mind and live out day to day without fear. A soldier gives you your freedom, and asks nothing in return. A soldier is the highest type of citizen. A soldier is what most of you are scared to be."
"Soldier
In a war, soldiers are the people who do the fighting, on the ground, in planes, or from boats. Soldier is also a verb that means to serve in the military, or to continue on through difficult times."
"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." Douglas MacArthur
"On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind." Dan Lipinski
"To be a soldier one needs that special gene, that extra something, that enables a person to jump into one on one combat, something, after all, that is unimaginable to most of us, as we are simply not brave enough." Rupert Everett
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men and women that died. Rather we should thank God that such men and women lived." Gen George S. Patton
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