Veterans Day is about honoring veterans for sacrifices that mean everything in our daily lives

They are among us everyday though we don’t often notice and may seldom think about them – veterans of the US Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. One online site puts the number of veterans in the United States today at approximately 17.6 million. That represents approximately 7% of the population.

Who are these veterans?

American veterans are men and women who served in the different branches of the U.S. military. Some of them saw combat. Some served in the rear areas supporting the front-line troops. All of them donated years of their lives based on a commitment to defend America and Americans.

Many paid a high price for their service. We see some of them around us with missing limbs, lost eyesight and other grievous injuries. Some carry their wounds silently inside. All of them have experiences that are beyond what we think of as day-to-day life.

What did they pledge to protect?

They all made the following oath when they signed up to join the military …

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

By defending the constitution, they defend our rights to pursue happiness as we see it. The defended our right to choose where to live, how to earn a living, how to spend our free time and what to say. In the process, they defended our right to live in a country where individual liberty means the right to start a business and be our own boss, or to quit a job and find another.

While Americans disagree about many things, the military – the veterans – have ensured that we have the right to disagree. Even if we don’t always see it this way, they have defended the concept, as Pres. Abraham Lincoln put it in his Gettysburg Address, “that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Veterans Day, November 11 each year, is about honoring military veterans who have served our country. It was adopted by Congress as a resolution on June 4, 1926 calling for that date to serve as a day of observance for those who have served.

That means we are honoring the 17.6-million American veterans who quietly go about their lives among us 365 days of the year. This is the day that we acknowledge their service and sacrifices. And it helps to honor them to recognize what they have contributed to our lives. Though we are often too busy to recognize what their sacrifices have meant in our daily lives, that does not diminish the immense value of what their contributions.

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Get out to McHenry Music Festival for a good time and music near to home

Some folks here in McHenry will load up the car and head out to Red Rock Amphitheater near Denver to see a show. Some will go to the MSG Sphere near Las Vegas. Some will go to the Bonaroo Festival Concert to see a show. That’s quite a bit of driving and you’d better make sure your vehicle is up to the trip. What happens, however, if something goes wrong – if your vehicle breaks down while driving there or back? What happens if the show is canceled, as happened this year with the Bonaroo Festival? We’re talking about some serious inconvenience, aren’t we? Wherever you go, whether your driving to Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee or anywhere else in this continent, you want to perform your due diligence and make sure the vehicle is up for the trip before you go. And it doesn’t really matter if you’re driving somewhere to see some live music or for any other purpose. A breakdown can be costly and may put you at the mercy of weather conditions or nefarious characters that come across you while y...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog