Although World War I ~ The Great War ~ officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, the fighting had actually ceased seven months earlier on November 11, 1918 (“the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”), when an armistice went into effect between the Allies and Germany. A year later in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 to be “Armistice Day” ~ a day of national remembrance to honor the sacrifice of the 116,000 Americans “who died in the country’s service” during WWI. On May 13, 1938, Congress enacted legislation making Armistice Day a national holiday.

Ironically, WWI was referred to as “the war to end all wars,” but sadly, that turned out not to be the case, and after suffering through another “great war” in Europe and the Pacific, as well as the Korean war, Americans decided it was time to honor all veterans, not just those of WWI. So it was that on June 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill replacing “Armistice” with “Veterans,” and thus was born what we now call “Veterans Day.”

For 10 years, beginning in 1968, the date of Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October in order that Americans could enjoy a three-day weekend. Ostensibly, this was to allow for plenty of time to attend memorials, remembrances and ceremonies. But a lot of folks were concerned that the importance of Veterans Day would be lost in the heady anticipation of a long weekend. In fact, many states refused to acknowledge the fourth Monday date and continued to observe November 11 as the one true Veterans Day. It was for this reason, in 1978, that President Gerald Ford signed another bill into law re-designating November 11 as the official date of Veterans Day. So it remains today.

A lot of people confuse Veterans Day with Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday of May. This is a common mistake in that both days are dedicated to the sacrifices of American servicemen and women. But while Veterans Day is designed to celebrate our living veterans, Memorial Day is designed to remember our dead. Although it can be argued that it is impossible to honor the living without honoring the dead. And vice versa.

On a more personal level, Bradley County has had its share of veterans who have served honorably and consistently over the years in peacetime and in war (in fact, many of them are now deputies and employees of the Sheriff’s Office). Some of our local veterans are publically recognized ~ like Sgt. Paul Huff ~ but most are not. And some never return home to friends and family, as was the case last year with Sgt. David Weir, who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq.

But Bradley County veterans have performed their duties with honor and dignity, then returned home without fanfare to build lives of normalcy as spouses, parents, daughters and sons. It’s hard to know exactly how many veterans Bradley County actually has, though, because there are no good tracking systems in place. Even the local VA office has trouble coming up with an exact number. A rough estimate of cases they service each month would be between 140 to 160, but that includes the surrounding area, not just Bradley County.

Our nation was conceived in war 231 years ago ~ the Revolutionary War. Since then, the U.S. has been involved in a number of conflicts around the world, at home and abroad ~ the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the first Persian Gulf War and now Iraq. And although I doubt there’s a single person reading this who celebrates war, there are many who recognize its necessity ~ especially in this day of global terrorism. I pray we never lose the courage or heart to stand against tyranny and oppression, wherever we find it.

So, it is with great humility that I lend my voice this Veterans Day to the voices of countless other grateful Americans and say thank you to the men and women who willingly face unknown danger in hostile lands to defend the freedoms we all too often take for granted.