Today is Veterans Day, with no apostrophe. You may wonder why Veterans Day does not include an apostrophe but does include an “s” at the end of “veterans” because it is not a day that “belongs” to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans. You are never to old to learn something new from a Gasbag such as myself.

“Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.” — Michel de Montaigne

I have never really thought to much about this day as I was growing up. Seems as I’ve gotten older and have met more vets I have really grown to appreciate them and all they have sacrificed for this country.

“On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.” — Dan Lipinski

My Dad was a World War II Veteran, fought in the Pacific. I think about the greatest generation and what they had to experience at such a young age and I can’t imagine going through that but they did and the gratitude can never be expressed enough. I remember making a comment to him when I got my selective service number the year of my 18th birthday (003) that I would just go to Canada. Yes we still had a draft then. Vietnam was not for me. My father calmly told me, “well son you can do that and that will be the day you are no longer my son.” Needless to say I didn’t and was considering the Air Force until the greatest President in the history of this nation, Richard Milhous Nixon ended the draft. God rest his soul.

“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” — José Narosky

It is not by design that this day arrives on the calendar in the wake of Election Day. This Nov. 11 marks the 102nd anniversary of the end of World War I. But it always seems fitting that Election Day, the annual autumnal demonstration of American democracy and divisiveness, is followed by this day of unity. Unity……a hard word in this day, 2020.

I’ve heard several people say that as a nation we have never been this divided. I beg to differ. President Abraham Lincoln faced the unenviable challenge of trying to unite the blue and gray. He made his timeless plea “to bind up the nation’s wounds”. Lincoln challenged the nation, “With malice toward none, with charity for all … to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ….” It was a commitment to those who served their country that we would look after them, and the families of those who gave their all.

We set aside Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, the day we officially remember and give thanks to all who served. But it is every day that our debt of gratitude must be paid, without exception. Every day we must ask ourselves: Are we doing enough?

Veterans did not just serve red or blue. America’s veterans represent an elite group who have earned our gratitude for as long as they live. They have served in times of war and peace, always in defense of our country. Veterans Day is an opportunity to measure what we have been, what we are and what we have the possibility to become as a nation. If you see a Veteran today, thank them and give them the salute they deserve.