Veterans Day 2023: Honoring all who served our country in the military
November 11 is Veterans Day, a day set aside each year to recognize the dedication and sacrifice of America’s military veterans.
Veterans Day was first celebrated on this date in 1919, under the name of Armistice Day. The holiday was named in remembrance of the temporary ceasefire that brought about the unofficial end to World War I when, the year before, the Allied forces entered into an armistice with the Germans, stopping live battle on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
On Veterans Day 2023, however, I want to express my sincere gratitude to military veterans everywhere for their service to our great country. Because of their courage and sacrifice, we are free to enjoy the rights endowed to us by God and enshrined by our Founding Fathers in the U.S. Constitution.
US Army veteran Charles M. Province, the Founder and President of the George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society and author of several books about General Patton, once penned this poem about the liberty we have, thanks to the American Soldier:
It is the soldier, not the minister,
Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us Freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us Freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
Who has given us a right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the soldier, who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
One of Ronald Reagan’s most famous speeches, A Soldier’s Pledge, was given as a tribute to the heroism, courage, and sacrifice displayed by those who serve in America’s Armed Forces (see below). In that speech, Mr. Reagan said the following about the American Soldier.
“We must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have. It is a weapon that we, as Americans, do have.”
Many who served our country in the military have paid the ultimate price by giving their very lives to defend and protect freedom. And while we should never forget those who paid such a price — that’s why we have Memorial Day — Veterans Day is the day we celebrate the service of all U.S. military veterans.
The battle for liberty continues today, and even with the odds a million-to-one against us, there’s still a chance of victory if we maintain our resolve and refuse to give up — something the men and women serving in the military do 24/7.
So, I invite you to find a current or past member of the military and thank them for their service to our country. They won’t be hard to find. You’ll find them at the businesses where you shop and at the church where you worship. They are your neighbors and your co-workers.
Let us never forget: It’s because of the fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters who serve or have served in the military that we are free to exercise our God-given, unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
That’s why we should always take time to show them the honor they deserve, especially on Veterans Day 2023.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable for their failure to uphold conservative values, and he promotes those values instead of political parties.
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