Happy Veteran's Day!

August Johnson ~
my Grandpa & favorite doughboy

Did you ever wonder why Veteran's Day is November 11? Well, before World War II, it was called Armistice Day and celebrated in the signing of the armistice that ended the war-to-end-all-wars. The treaty ending World War I was signed November 11, 1918 at 11:11am. When, less then twenty-five years later, we were enmeshed in another world war, the name was changed. So that's why Veteran's Day is not on a glorious summer day when we could have a picnic ~ no one wanted to stretch that war out eight more months. Deal with it.

Grandma & Grandpa really believed that was THE war-to-end-all-wars. Imagine how horrible for them when they sent their sons off to fight in yet another global battle? Actually, because the two were only 23 years apart (for Americans, for Europeans it was 21) some men got to fight in both, heck, WWI infantry who stayed in and became officers could still have been active duty for Korea. Yegads!

Back to Veteran's Day ~ it was changed to honor all vets. Some folks (who hate having their mail disrupted) think it should be merged with Memorial Day, but Memorial Day honors the fallen, those men & women who died in service to our country. What about those who served, who did their duty, and had to spend (hopefully) decades dealing with what they saw? That is what today is for. This is not the day to get on a high-horse about everything that is wrong with the military. Most everyone who served did so because they love their country, because they love freedom, because they want those freedoms to be available to their children.

Francis Yaeger ~
my father & favorite jarhead

To everyone who has ever served, I offer a heartfelt "Thank you" because, overall, America is a great country. It is fabulous to live in a country where I can publicly say, "I think the president is a short-sighted dipshit" and I only have to worry about offending people. I do not have to worry about being "disappeared" or "re-educated" as folks in some countries. This is a pretty terrific concept. If you don't like America, you can say so. You can run for office to try to change what you don't like. You can campaign for someone you believe will fix things. You can do all of these things because someone was willing to put on a uniform and defend with his life, your right to disagree. For a lot of reasons, not the least of which is my fondness for debate, I really appreciate our vets. Thanks ~ all of you. Happy Veteran's Day!