I always think that our holding Veteran’s Day on November 11 is a mistake. That we would give our vets one of the worst months of the year weather-wise and a Tuesday at that is just plain wrong. I feel that if we truly valued veterans, we would give them July 3 as the day, a day that is summer for most of the country, right before the national holiday celebrating the independence of the United States. We should have the reminder that all those people who are walking around (some with lifetime injuries both physical, mental and spiritual) are the ones who ensure we celebrate a national holiday in the first place.
Veteran’s Day gets too confused with Remembrance Day in the UK and Commonwealth countries. They commemorate on that day what we do on our Memorial Day. Our Memorial Day gets confused with Veteran's Day. It's sort of a problem.
We here in the US, being overly practical, decided not to let Armistice Day (as the end of World War One is known) go wasted. So, we decided to give that day to our veterans, which is insulting considering that the rest of the world are thinking of their dead for a war that occurred prior to World War Two.
Which brings me to June 13, 1986.
At the time, I was clerking at a law firm down on LaSalle Street in Chicago. That day, the largest Vietnam Veteran’s parade ever held in the nation was celebrated in Chicago. It was a gorgeous summer day, and I remember sitting on the windowsill of the law firm, watching veterans walking down LaSalle Street, finally getting recognition for their service. That the war ended eleven years earlier was typical of the American response to the Vietnam war. It took that many years to finally, finally give those men and women the recognition they deserved. Those 200,000 veterans were also given a parade, a great day weather-wise and the sort of riveted attention from a public, who at least in Chicago, were aware that these veterans deserved respect and that they were not forgotten.
It was one of the most historical moments I have witnessed in Chicago, and I was glad I was there for it. As I got older, I became friends with many veterans, especially Vietnam vets, who were born just a decade before me. That I was too young to be drafted, yet not too young to feel the pain of that war, was not lost on me. Having played at veterans' homes and hospitals has made me convinced that November 11 is the worst possible day to celebrate our veterans.
If there is anything we need to remind ourselves about during these tumultuous times, it is the fact that ordinary people end up doing extraordinary things in difficult circumstances. When we don’t give such people the proper respect, such as a real holiday that can be celebrated with hot dogs and beer, we tend to end up with people who resent their service to their country. Especially when politicians start to play with veterans' benefits, or healthcare, not only for them, but their loved ones.
It could be argued that our political polarization has its roots in this lack of attention. If we take those who served our country for granted, then doesn’t that mean we take our freedom for granted also? And it's not that hard of a step to then take each other for granted, too. Perhaps, when these dark days pass, someone will be enlightened enough to bestow on our vets a proper day for a proper thank you, much like that day on June 13, 1986.
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