The wars have come and gone. Whether veterans were drafted or enlisted, they went to our duty and served the country we loved. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, those who served in these forces came from all over the country.

Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. Many Americans mistakenly believe that Veterans Day is the day America sets aside to honor American military personnel who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained from combat. That’s not quite true. Memorial Day is the day set aside to honor America’s war dead. Veterans Day, on the other hand, honors all American veterans, both livingand dead. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for dedicated and loyal service to their country. Nov.11 of each year is the day that we ensure veterans know that we deeply appreciate the sacrifices they have made in the lives to keep our country free.
At exactly 11 a.m., on Veterans Day, a color guard,made up of members from each of the military branches, renders honors to America’s war dead during a heart-moving ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. The president or his representative places a wreath at the Tomb and a bugler sounds Taps. The balance of the ceremony, including a “Parade of Flags” by numerous veterans’ service organizations, takes place inside the Memorial Amphitheater, next to the Tomb.

There have been 11 wars beginning with the American Revolution. In these conflicts from our founding to today’s news reports, a total of 42 million Americans have served in our military. Of this total, 650,000 died in battle. Another 309,000 died from other causes in the theatres where they served.

According to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (NVA) today we have almost 17.5 million living American veterans of wartime service. Can you believe that’s about 5.5% of our total population?

Thinking about it brings a lot of memories of my eldest brother. I remember, like it was yesterday, when he decided to enlist in the Air Force in 2003. I was only 12 years old when he told my family and being so young the only things that ran through my mind was war, shooting, bloodshed and other bad things. I was mortified to think he wanted to be a part of that.

Soldiers in the military got their training from stern men who never smiled. They pushed themselves harder than they ever had previously. And when their physical training was over, they knew things were just beginning. To them, training was only a first step. They stayed in distant countries with strange names, combat, danger and sometimes long periods of empty days and nights. All they knew was drill and duty.

I used to ask myself, why would anyone want to do this? My brother enlisted in the Air Force twice making that eight years of being a part of the U.S Air Force. He said he knew that it was time to answer our nation’s call and enlist in the military. He told people he joined to fight terrorists, fundamentalist militants and the enemies of America wherever they hide.

He is proud today that he honorably served here and overseas in the name of freedom and justice and furthered our nation’s goal of eliminating those who wish to destroy us for the things that we cherish and believe in. It finally all made sense to me. I cannot be anymore proud of him and the rest of our soldiers.

So if you know someone who has served in any branch of the service, wartime or peacetime, or both, this is the day to shake his or her hand and to say, “Thank you for what you did for us.  We are grateful for your devotion to duty and to our country.”