Veterans Day is not just another day off!
Frank Woodruff Buckles at age 16 and 107
Today November 11, 2010 is Veterans Day. Please hand your flag to show honor to these brave men and women. Don’t forget your flag etiquette.
What is Veterans Day? For most people it’s a paid day off from work and the the kids stay home from school. There are sales at the mall, parades and other festivities. But do you know why?
Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring the 24.5 million military veterans in the United States, 1.7 million of whom are women and 9.5 million of whom are 65 and older. Our oldest living veteran is Frank Woodruff Buckles, WWI veteran, age 109.
Veterans Day is both a federal and state holiday in all states and is usually observed on November 11. It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world. November 11 is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.
Armistice Day was celebrated starting November 1919 until 1954 where is was official changed to Veterans Day and was to include all Veterans of all wars.
Be sure to thank a Veteran for fighting for and protecting your Constitutional Rights. Most important to me are our First and Second Amendment Rights:
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of Religion
- Freedom of the Press
- Freedom of Assembly
- Right to Keep and Bear Arms
China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen don’t have that. Many many countries don’t have that. We have our issues, but I have traveled all over the and there is no better country in the world than the United States of America.
There are veteran and war memorials all over the US. Here are four National War Memorials from Washington DC.
World War I Memorial; Washington DC
4,734,991 US Troops deployed; 320,518 killed and wounded; 1917-1918
World War II Memorial; Washington DC
16,112,566 deployed worldwide; 1,077,245 killed and wounded; 1941-1945
Korean War Memorial; Washington DC
5,720,000 deployed worldwide; 157,530 killed and wounded; 1950-1953
Vietnam War Memorial; Washington DC
8,744,000 deployed worldwide; 243,512 killed and wounded; 1964-1975
There are many Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran and War Memorials being built in the US. There is a National Memorial in planning for Washington DC, but I think there are some design issues.
Desert Shield/Desert Storm Memorial; Evansville, IN
694,550 Deployed to the Gulf; 849 killed and wounded; 1990-1991
Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan 2001-Present
**Deployed, *1378 killed, *7266Wounded
Operation Iraq Freedom 2003-Present
**Deployed, *4745 Deaths, *31,902 Wounded
Note* – Number totals are based in statistics from icasualties.org
Note** – I could not find a current “Total Number Deployed” If you have a link to that info please send.
AMERICAS WARS-FACTS/STATISTICS
Icasualties -Fatalities and wounded stats
Please…do something special for a Veteran today.
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