Image by: Trister

Happy Veterans Day! As you may all know, this is the day to celebrate all those who serve and have served in the military. These are the men and women who fought for our rights, fought for our lives, fought for our freedom, giving everything they can and survived to tell the story and to live, see, and cherish what they have paved, what they love, what they believe in... our country. Without them, we may be speaking a different language, living a different life, governed by a different government and have less freedoms than we currently have. These are the brave and courageous men and women who do what others cannot, unwilling to, or afraid to do. Some or most have sacrificed their health, their body, and their minds for us to be able to still stand, exist, and enjoy the everyday things our country has to offer. We should not takes the things we have for granted and not only appreciate them but, how we came to have them, how we came to keep them. So take a moment today and look around. Imagine the things you would not have, could not do, cannot say and when you come across a Vet, you may find yourself turning towards them, looking into their eyes, shaking their hand, to say, "Thank you", as it is the least we can do for them.

This day marks a very important day in history. The armistice was signed between to the Allies of WWI and Germany on the Western Front on "the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918. This was the official day that marked the cease fire on the Western Front, that for the most part, was a deadlock and was then known as Armistice Day. After WWII, the holiday was changed to Veterans Day (US) or Remembrance Day (British Commonwealth) but, remains the same for France and Belgium.

The wars today fail in comparison to the wars of yesteryears in that they were massive in number of fighting soldiers and deaths. Some places take a two-minute moment of silence at 11am to show respect to roughly 20 million fallen soldiers. I'm not about to bash the government for the seemingly lack of support for these and current Veterans but, there are many who provide assistance and care to the disabled; and even at that, it doesn't seem to be enough. If you're feeling generous or would like to assist the Vets, take a look around you for organizations to donate or volunteer in giving back for what they have done for us. It's hard to imagine how far we have come, in what these Vets have done for us, in what will soon to be 100 years.

Happy Veterans Day!