Today is Veterans Day, a date set aside to honor the brave men and women who served our country and kept us free. As is my custom whenever a commemorative occasion arises, I get curious about the origin of the celebration and turn to the History Channel for answers.
While researching the origin of Veterans’ Day, my thoughts naturally turned to my father. My dad proudly served in the U.S. Navy on a battleship in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His ship was torpedoed by a Japanese Navy submarine, and Dad’s ship broke in two. Fortunately, Dad was on the half that did not sink. But he was close enough to the epicenter of the hit that he suffered a severely damaged left eardrum, leaving him quite hard of hearing and wearing a hearing aid for the rest of his life.
When I was about ten years old, my family watched a Veterans’ Day commemoration in Washington D. C. on television. Being proud and respectful, I wished my dad a happy Veteran’s Day. Dad hugged me and said, “Thank you for the good wishes. But if you really want to thank me and every veteran for our service to the country, action speaks louder than words.” I looked at Dad oddly and said, “I’m too young to join the Navy —so what could I do?” He said the best way to honor the sacrifices we made and gladly paid for with our blood and lives is to VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION. Salute us by doing the very thing we fought to preserve: the freedom of choice. I never forgot my dad’s request, and I have honored him and every veteran by voting in every election I have been eligible to and hope every U.S. citizen does too.
Click the link and read the history of Veterans’ Day- CREDIT: The History Channel.
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/history-of-veterans-day