My bank is closed today and the local newspaper announced a ceremony on the bluff at the Korean War Memorial to honor that war’s veterans. So, even though this holiday doesn’t seem to have the recognition of others, I know in subtle ways it’s Veteran’s Day.
We hear often how World War II’s vets, dubbed by Tom Brokaw the “greatest generation,” are passing away at alarming speed. It’s a function of the passing of time. At just last week I saw an article about the death of one of the world’s last World War I veterans. Again, time ran out.
I don’t have any statistics about how many veterans of all our wars are still living; I’m not sure I want to know. I do know the two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq have certainly provided members for local VFWs for almost a century. The current situation, in particular, has done a remarkable job of swelling the eligibility lists for veterans’ organizations.
If we have to engage in war, I’m willing to have organizations exist that support returning veterans. At the same time, I’d love to see such organizations disappear altogether as a function of time because no new veterans were “minted” by the government’s foreign policies.
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