This upcoming Sunday is Veterans Day, which commemorates the honorable dedication of the American servicemembers who selflessly chose to protect and defend our amazing country, during both war and peacetime. President Wilson issued a proclamation in 1919, in which he expressed what he felt the day meant to Americans, and that proclamation eventually became our nation’s annual Veterans Day. The liberties and freedoms we have in America are wholly due to our service men and women, who, over the centuries, have sacrificed their time, energy, and even their very lives for our country.
It is only fitting that we have our 20th annual Veterans Celebration event on the week of Veterans Day. This morning, with hundreds on campus, one of SFC’s most wonderful traditions occurred — Santa Fe Christian honored and celebrated our local veterans with a ceremony.
We all embody gratitude for veterans. Who is the vet that is intimately significant in your heart? Let them know your appreciation and personally thank that veteran today, or simply find a way to honor them. The veteran that is my hero is my dad. The real Mr. Gilbert served his country as a United States Marine in the 1960’s, as my mom walked that path with him stateside. Rarely does he talk about his nation and his love for the United States Marines without choking up from emotion. My dad embodies the essence of American patriotism, and I honor him, and all veterans today!
So, to all veterans we say — thank you! God bless the men and women of the armed services, and God bless America!
P.S. Why do we celebrate November 11? Commemorated on November 11, Veterans Day (previously Armistice Day) is celebrated on this specific day because on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918, an armistice or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I. In 1954 the Congress decided to strike the word armistice for veterans and became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
