VETERANS DAY 2011 (A WCHL Commentary)

11/08/11 was Election Day and in many communities throughout our nation, citizens exercised one of our most cherished rights and voted.  Of course, some exercised their right not to vote.  In either case, Americans were adhering to an honored tradition.   
At 11/11/11/11, that is at the 11^th hour of the 11 day of the 11 month of this year, 2011, all across our nation we will pause to remember and honor all who served, both the dead and those living, who served honorably in wartime and peacetime.  Remember Election Day?  We can exercise our rights – or not, because of what generations of veterans have done to keep our nation free.   

Today, we have many of our veterans hurting, they are unemployed, suffer tremendous health issues and feel that our nation has not cared for them as promised.  George Washington told us many years ago "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."  I shudder to think about a future where our young people are no longer willing to serve.  

Fortunately, those from our community and others like ours are willing to put their lives on hold, leave their loved ones, and sacrifice while serving all of us.  It’s nice when someone says “thank you for your service, but it’s even nicer to know that we will honor our commitments to our veterans and appreciate them.  Demand that our elected leaders at every level of government take proper care of our veterans.