November 11, 2018
Veterans Are Not Honored by Forever War
The original goal of Veterans Day--promoting peace--is still worth pursuing.
by Daniel L. Davis Follow @DanielLDavis1 on Twitter L
I have really mixed feelings today. On Veteran’s Day, we’re supposed to be honoring “veterans, military families, and those who gave their lives in service to this great Nation. We are indebted to these heroes for the freedoms we enjoy every day.†My discomfort arises from the fact that while Washington honors veterans and service members with words every day, government actions all too frequently produce the opposite effect.
After the “ war to end all wars †(World War I), Congress enacted a proclamation to honor the veterans who had fought and died in what had been the most destructive war in history up to that point. In roughly only six months of fighting (May-November 1918), American troops suffered 204,002 wounded in battle and 116,516 killed from all causes; an average of 1,780 casualties per day of fighting before the Armistice took effect on November 11, 1918.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/veterans-are-not-honored-forever-war-35577
