Looking Ahead – Veterans Day

November 11 – next week – is Veterans Day. The date, as many know, is not an accident. On the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918, a devastating stretch of human history – World War One, nine million military dead, eight million civilians, 23 million wounded – came to an end. Because history is lost if not recalled, glancing toward next week, consider facts.

First, the war was gut-wrenching, causing Americans to realize how closely tied we are to the world, and how much the world depends on America to preserve the idea of liberty. Liberty is easily lost, never faster than when forgotten. We were – and are – a beacon. Americans must never forget.

Second, Veterans Day was not originally known by that name. It was initially “Armistice Day,” the sole focus of World War One. Made official (at the federal level) in 1938, the name was changed in 1954 – under former Supreme Allied Commander and then President, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

To honor all veterans, including those of World War Two (16 million) and the Korean War (5.7 million), Veterans Day became a national holiday celebrating veterans living and dead. Memorial Day, by contrast, honors those who fell in battle, a subset of all veterans.

In 1968, then-President Lyndon Johnson – with virtually no military service – tried to switch Veterans Day to the last Monday in October, aligned with other Monday holidays. His attempt to ignore the WWI Armistice created confusion and was reversed by President Gerald Ford (Navy 1942 to 1946).

Third, since 1975, Veterans Day has honored America’s Veterans on November 11. Today, just over six percent of Americans are veterans. Our entire nation – hold your breath for this – is protected by only .04 percent of the population. Active duty veterans total less than half a percent of America.

Fourth, fictions are commonplace and should be addressed on Veterans Day. While all veterans learn to use firearms and more than half own firearms safely, most are held for personal, family, or community protection, and veterans often step up to protect others; they know how and care.

Despite what often seems like a societal misunderstanding of veterans, and a lack of appreciation for what motivated them to serve, what they did, and why they still serve, only seven in 100 have post-traumatic stress, roughly the same as in the civilian population, albeit for other-regarding reasons.

To be clear, veterans suffer and manage what they lived through because they volunteered to risk dying for you and me. They stepped up, knowing the risks signed on their “page two.” They learned, lived, and served for others. Yes, they learned unique skills, but the motivation and reality was service.

Nor are veterans in a worse position, generally, than other Americans. Actually, their training and experience tend to make them can-do, resourceful, enterprising, hardworking, by definition capable and effective on teams, problem-solving, anticipatory, good with deadlines, and effective.

Stepping up, they know how to step up. By having sacrificed and put themselves second to the rest of America, they know what that means. Some civilians do that; all vets do. Being ready is their job.

Disposing of a few more fictions, while no veteran who served America should EVER be homeless, or without a helping hand as needed, veterans are quite focused on problem-solving, self-help, figuring things out, and getting things right, so that they can continue to do what they can for others.

Thus, by comparison to the civilian population, 7.4 percent of vets find themselves below the poverty line, while 11.9 percent of non-veterans are below the line – despite twice as many veterans having a disability. Fewer vets are unemployed than civilians.

Fifth, maybe one or two more facts about veterans, because the facts matter every day, not just on Veterans Day. Of the 16 million WWII veterans, we have only 120,000 left. If you do not know one, search one out, and listen to them. We are the last generation able to know them.

Of the 5.7 million veterans from the Korean War, we have less than 800,000 left. Even now, roughly half of our Vietnam veterans are gone, and they earned what others did, but never got it.

As Veterans Day approaches, just think about it, older vets and younger, what they mean, should mean to all of us. “Thank you” is always good. Better might be, “I just want you to know I appreciate the decision you made, the risks you opened yourself to, the sacrifice you were willing to make for me.”

Veterans do not ask for thanks. Most did what they did for principle, duty, honor, courage, service, knowing history, being equal to their time, just doing their part. As Harry Truman said, a sentiment echoed by other American leaders: “Veterans have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices.” That was his promise to them, for us. That is our duty to them.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).