Published: November 02, 2007 02:17 pm            

Land Minds: A holiday worth celebrating

Originally published in the November 2, 2007, print edition.

Hero.

That’s a label tossed around a lot these days; all too often it is used inappropriately.

Many Sunday afternoons you’ll hear some inane ex-jock talk about a large man playing a game as being a “hero” for the way he brought his team back from the brink of defeat.

Or you’ll hear a baseball commentator throw the label at a guy who just hit a pinch-hit game-winning home run after suffering a twisted knee only the night before.

Both these instances make for great entertainment, but they do not make these people heroes.

We have many heroes in our midst, and many more who aren’t currently on American soil. Many of these heroes are fighting an unpopular fight in Iraq, but they are still heroes. As are the families they have left behind.

This time of year has everyone thinking of the holidays. People get in the festive spirit with Halloween kicking things off, leading into Thanksgiving and then, of course, Christmas and the New Year’s time period.

One holiday that settles in every fall without a lot of fanfare is Veterans Day.

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11, 1919, as the first commemoration of Armistice Day, the day that essentially marked the end of World War I in 1918.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ website, the original concept was for the day to be observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m.

After our country endured another world war and the Korean War, Congress acted to replace “Armistice” with “Veterans” Day, to honor veterans of all wars. The actual observance of Veterans Day had floated around the fall calendar, until President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 to return Veterans Day observance to Nov. 11 starting in 1978.

There it has stayed, and there it has become lost among all the Hallmark holidays.

I found it curious that a search of Hallmark.com resulted in only a trace of Veterans Day. There was a single e-postcard you could send to a veteran or other patriotic soul. Meanwhile, there were quite a few items and cards for Halloween, Thanksgiving and even tailgating. But only one e-card for Veterans Day?!

Our society is askew if we ignore the holiday dedicated to the men and women who went off to war to defend our country and freedom in order for all Americans to be able to celebrate any holiday they choose.

According to the VA website, there were almost 24 million veterans at most recent count of about a year ago. About 7.2 percent of those are women.

As this Veterans Day rolls around, please thank a veteran for the service they provided and thank a current soldier for what they are doing. Do this in your own way: put a sign in your yard, thank them in person, send a card, give them a call, say a prayer.

Since Nov. 11 falls on a Sunday that means this Veterans Day coincides with a pastime that Hallmark does recognize — tailgating. So, be sure to lift a cold one high and toast a veteran. It’s the least one can do. Honor the real heroes.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.