The holiday passes with parades and ceremonies, speeches about sacrifice and service. People say "thank you for your service" with genuine hearts, and it matters to those who served.
Veterans Day honors all who served: those still with us and those who've passed. It celebrates the living and remembers the dead. Both matter. Both shaped who we are as a nation.
The veteran standing at attention during the national anthem carries memories of friends no longer here. The one greeting fellow vets at the VFW remembers names and faces that time can't erase. The teacher who once wore the uniform thinks of the sergeant who taught them leadership, now gone twenty years.
This day recognizes service in all its forms. Not just the combat roles that make headlines, but the mechanics who kept vehicles running. The clerks who processed paperwork that kept operations moving. The cooks who fed thousands and the supply specialists who made sure equipment arrived where it was needed.
The day is about the continuity of service: from those who answered the call generations ago to those serving today. About understanding that every person who wore the uniform connected to something larger, a chain of service stretching back through history.
Some served in peacetime. Some in war. Some came home to parades. Some to silence…others to hatred. Some lived long lives afterward. Some didn't get that chance. All served and all count.
Today we honor that service: the choices made, the oaths taken, the commitments kept. We recognize both the living veterans who walk among us and remember those who are no longer here.
Thank you to all who served.
Your service, your sacrifice, your presence matters.