The number 11 occurs frequently in the dates and times that mark the military history of our country. In 1868, General Order Number 11 of the Grand Army of the Republic established Memorial Day as a nationwide observance to honor those who died in the Civil War. And there were many. In that conflict, which rocked this nation to its foundation, recent demographics studies estimate 750,000 lives were lost. These casualties are reported to exceed the nation’s military losses in all of its other wars combined, from the Revolution through today.
At 11 o’clock Paris time on Nov. 11, 1918, in Compiègne, France, the Allies and the Germans agreed to a temporary cessation of hostilities, an armistice, months before the final peace treaty—the 1919 Treaty of Versailles—brought an end to World War I. And on that day, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 Armistice Day, to honor the 116,516 U.S. soldiers who died in what came to be called “the war to end all wars.”
But World War I was not the war to end them all. Approximately 418,500 U.S. troops lost their lives in World War II, followed by 47,378 in the Vietnam conflict, and more recently the 7,222, according to Defense Department estimates, to have died between 2001 and the present while serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower changed the name of Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954, and moved the day’s focus from remembering the dead of World War I to remembering everyone who has served in the U.S. military.
Body-count reports fail to capture the aftermath of that service—the number of people left crippled in body, mind, and spirit, proud to have served but unable to erase the horrors of war from their lives. Some are languishing in military hospitals that are underfunded and ill prepared to deal with the physical and psychological injuries veterans bring home. Some are missing legs and arms. Some are haunted by images of friends being blown to bits, or the memory of killing another human being. Many turn to alcohol and drugs to ease their psychological pain, and they fall below the radar of veterans’ services.
While Memorial Day is a solemn occasion for remembering our war dead, Veterans Day, Nov. 11, is a day to honor our estimated 18.5 million living veterans. We don’t know which war will be the one that ends them all. Each new conflict seems more terrible than the last. But we owe a debt of gratitude to those who have stepped up and put their lives in harm’s way. And what these people need on Veterans Day is more than a thank-you and a salute. They need a country prepared to help them live their lives now that they are home and a country prepared to devote resources to healing their wounds. It is time we stepped up to the plate to advocate better care for those who have served so well.
