Today is the official Veterans Day holiday. Yesterday (Friday) was the observance day of Veterans Day.

Veterans Day is a federal holiday, created to honor the service of men and women in any branch of the U.S. armed services that were discharged honorably. While current active-duty individuals are often part of Veterans Day observances (their holiday is Armed Forces Day), the day exists to celebrate and honor, those that HAVE served…veterans.

The holiday has roots to the end of World War I, in 1918. On November 11, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued a message thanking veterans for their service and referred to the day (November 11) as the first celebration of the end of the war a year earlier – Armistice Day.

The United States Congress adopted a resolution on June 4, 1926, requesting President Calvin Coolidge issue annual proclamations calling for the observance of November 11 as day for remembrance.  A Congressional Act approved on May 13, 1938, made November 11 in each year a legal holiday: a day dedicated to peace and the end of the “great War”, Armistice Day.

In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks had the idea to extend Armistice Day as a ceremony for all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. He led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day. 

House Representative Ed Rees from Kansas authored a bill establishing the holiday through Congress. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, also from Kansas, signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954. Armistice Day now officially celebrated all veterans.

Congress amended the bill on June 1, 1954, changing “Armistice” to “Veterans,” and it has been known as Veterans Day since.

So, on this day, please with utmost sincerity and respect, thank any veteran you know or meet, for his or her service. The sacrifice made by these courageous men and women is incredibly important for a free nation.

Please consider supporting a cause very important to me. Veterans suicide exists at alarming rates. Each day, 22 vets commit suicide. Even more continue to struggle with alcohol and drug addiction which, may lead to death, not technically considered suicide. Tragically, if the numbers of deaths attributable to substance abuse was added to the suicide numbers, the daily total would nearly double.

According to AWP’s findings, 22-24 veterans ages 18-64 commit suicide each day and 18-20 veterans in the same age group die per day by self-injury. Combined, this points to at least 40-44 veterans taking their lives every day.

Great programs that do phenomenal work in helping veterans rebuild their lives, stave off suicide risks, and provide structure, counseling and support exist.  Here are a few worthy of support.

• https://mission22.com/
• https://sound-off.com/
• https://www.missionrollcall.org/
• https://www.mightyoaksprograms.org/
• https://tilvalhallaproject.com/

The pics below are my kids (daughter on deployment in Saudi, son-in-law on deployment in Syria) and the missing man memorial at the USAF monument/memorial site in Washington, DC.