Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling. (from Wiki)
I never served in the military but I've had a lot of family members and close friends that have and some still do. When I was little, I entertained the idea of being a Navy Pilot because that is what my father, Lt. W.L. Strahan did and his stories of those experiences were mesmerizing. My eyesight was not good enough to be a pilot and I lost interest as I got older. However, I always felt attached to the military because of my dad. We shopped at the Air Force base commissary in Lubbock. Our our house was full of uniforms, medals, cuff links, hats, flight suits, oxygen mask, pictures of jets and carriers, even the sword that I thought was really cool. Here is a photo of my dad in uniform:
It's sad that this nation feels it cannot fully trust the motives of a President that declares war. It's sad that the bipartisan nature of our system allows those who are campaigning for office to question those in office for going to war. I find it almost impossible to believe that any human being would declare war, put our son's and daughter's lives at risk, for a cause that was not worthy. I don't believe anyone would sacrifice lives for oil. Guess I'm just naive that way. It seems to me that the one thing all politicians should agree on is whether a threat is such that we must risk the lives of our soldiers. We should be able to question why our country is considering war but once we are there, we should not criticize our leaders They certainly should not criticize each other. We should all stand united.
When it comes to war, we should stand as one nation behind our leaders and our military. We should be humble and understand that we are not privy to the intelligence and information supplied to our leaders. We cannot begin to understand what is really happening in the world. We cannot be the armchair quarterbacks of military matters.
United, however, we can hope and pray for a quick resolution of the conflict without loss of life. United, we can hope and pray that our leaders will bring our troops home as fast as possible. United, we can give soldiers a ticker tape parade and welcome home celebration that is fitting. It should be bigger than any Superbowl or World Series celebration. United, we can observe with reverence a moment of silence and a quiet breath of thanks for all who have died and will not return home. Most importantly, no matter what your political preferences are and no matter how opposed you are to a war, you should never demean the motive of the soldiers who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for this Country! Soldiers don't get paid much, they don't live luxuriously, they follow orders and they don't get near the appreciation they deserve.
Next time you see someone in uniform or someone wearing a veteran hat or vest, tell them THANKS. Say it sincerely! It will make you feel good and it's the least you could do for these people who preserve our way of life.
Happy Veterans Day. God Bless America.
Wrote a great little article about my latest Studio Album, Blue 'til I Die. For the complete article, click here: