Veterans! We Salute You
Seventy-seven years ago today, World War II concluded in Europe. Enslaved people were liberated. Rebuilding began. Starving people received food. Lovers and families long separated were reunited. Many of the living could go home.
While street celebrations and parties were in full swing and nations breathed a sigh of relief, millions suffered loss and displacement. Loved ones missing. Children dead. Families or homes destroyed. Faith in one’s fellow man questioned. Nightmares instead of dreams. And for some, never another day with a whole body or untortured mind.
This was reality for many, both civilian and military, but thanks to Allied troops there was hope for restoration. At unfathomable personal cost, our way of life was guarded.
Why Veterans Day?
Armistice Day was set apart to honor the end of World War I. When it became clear that this was not “the war to end all wars” and freedom had once again to be demanded with blood, Veterans Day was instituted to honor and remember American veterans of all wars.
Veterans Day became an official holiday in the United States in 1954, replacing the former Armistice Day. In some other Allied countries, it is still known as Armistice Day. In others, it is called Remembrance Day, Anzac Day, Veteranendag or Veterandagen. Celebrations include parades, wreath laying, worship services and prayer, memorial services, moments of silence and the wearing of red poppies. Poppies flourished in ground that had been churned by battle and were a reminder of the blood shed by those fighting for not only their freedom, but ours.
The families of some veterans endured incredible loss. Thomas and Alleta Sullivan lost all five of their sons in a single incident when the USS Juneau was torpedoed and sunk near Guadalcanal in 1942. Alben and Gunda Borgstrom lost four of their sons within six months. But the loss of even one loved one might have hurt just as much.
Looking Back to Look Up
Looking back at events of the 1940s brings the realization of what millions of individuals, for the common good, chose. Whether in times of war or peace, our veterans have similarly been the buffer between us and evil. The inventiveness and tenacity of the ones on the Home Front during World War II is fascinating. It is easy to romanticize those exciting days. Remembering genocide, racism, loneliness, wounds or grief is far less entertaining though every bit as important.
This website celebrates the ingenuity and overcoming spirit of civilians who guarded every aspect of life at home while supporting those on the front lines. Their creativity and enduring hope are things we can still learn from today. However, without the ones fighting in all the various arenas of war, life in many nations would have turned out quite differently. There is no way of knowing how many more souls would have been lost. We owe a debt to those who ventured out on our behalf—a debt to remember and give honor where it is due—a debt to look up with grateful hearts.
Today, I remember my loved ones who served in World War II and the ones who supported them. I remember individuals whose faces I have never seen, who put themselves in harm’s way to guard us. I give thanks for the lives that were spared and also for those that weren’t. I’ll pay attention to the veterans around me and help where I can. I’ll give my own veteran a big hug when he gets home this evening.
Veterans, we salute you in our hearts. We are terribly thankful for you.
He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
Isaiah 25:8