There are no veterans remaining from the War to End All Wars. World War I didn’t end all wars but it did begin the tradition of remembering those who died on the field of battle defending their nations. In Europe, they call it Remembrance Day and display the red poppy, recalling the poet’s words In Flanders Fields.

Those who died on the bloody fields of World War I have not been forgotten even though those who fought alongside them and survived them survive them no longer. We still remember that long ago war on the anniversary of its end, November 11. One hundred and six years have passed but we have not forgotten. Rather, we have only multiplied those whom we must remember.

World War II in many ways overshadows World War I but like its terrible sister, its veterans are passing into history, leaving behind the accounts of their deeds and the children, grand children and more that the survivors were blessed to have. Korea’s veterans are not far behind, many being veterans of both wars.

Nearly sixty years have now passed since the end of the Viet Nam War. The nineteen year olds who served their country then are eighty now. They, too, are passing out of reach of the generations born decades after those long ago conflicts. They, too, will too soon join their comrades in arms beyond the veil, leaving only the boot prints of memory.

Veterans of the Persian Gulf War are themselves now eligible for senior discounts. Thirty years seem like a moment to history, but are a lifetime to those who came home and an eternity to the families of those who did not.

The surviving veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq are still young men compared to their seniors, but for many of them, more than twenty years have passed since they last threw on a uniform as they ran to their stations. Only three years have passed since thirteen lost their lives in the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Time and events march on but the memories remain. Loss and pain, victory and jubilation, pride and honor, complaining about just how stupid the military is – that last one seems eternal – the price paid for a free nation to remain free. That price is paid in blood and tears.

Only fools would ever want to forget. Those who served paid a price for that service whether they survived or paid the ultimate price. We pay them money and benefits for their time, but we owe far more than those things can compensate for. We owe our remembrance. We owe our love. We owe.

One day a year to remember all those who have served their nation with honor, integrity and loyalty is a good start. Those of us who can only ever imagine what those who served have been through for our sakes have a duty to never, ever forget.

Remembering the cost of war keeps us ever mindful that war must always be the last club out of the bag, never the first. We fight wars to win, not to gain glory. If we can win without a boot touching ground, we are the better for it. If not, we have to be able to look those who return in the eye when we say we did try everything before taking out that most awful club and sending them to use it.

The lives of those who serve are not expendable. They are invaluable. They are precious beyond measure. Every life ended too soon on the field of battle is a wound to us as a nation. Every single one.

Today is Veteran’s Day. Today is the day we set aside to remember those who have served us in time of war and especially those who have given their very lives in that service.

Never forget.

PS: I’m an idiot and wrote Memorial Day originally. The audio has Memorial Day. I should not write late at night. Apologies for the error.

PSS: Y’all are all laughing at me now, aren’t ya? 😉