Remembering Those Who Serve

World War 1 ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. A year later President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 Armistice Day. In 1938 it was made a legal holiday "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'." In 1954 it was renamed Veteran's Day. In countries of the British Commonwealth is it observed as Remembrance Day.

Whatever you call it, wherever you live, regardless of what you think about the current foreign policies and actions of respective governments, please take time to thank and honor those who have honorably served you with all that they have. And let us work toward true peace.

I want to personally thank the veterans among my readers and their families for the sacrifices they have made.

In order to make your gratitude more tangible I'd encourage you to check out Soldiers' Angels, which does quite a lot to directly encourage, support, and meet the needs of those in active duty and those who have returned home wounded. In fact, today is the final day for the Valour-IT fundraising competition in which the various branches of the military are competing to see which can raise the most for voice activated laptops to aid soldiers who have been severely wounded. You may wonder why a wounded soldier would have need of such a thing. I think the cartoon below says it better than I could.

Being able to remain connected to folks who love you during a long convalescence from severe injuries does wonders for the human spirit. Those of you who have been reading me long enough were a great support during my own long months of rehabilitation from a devastating hand and arm injury sustained through my own stupidity. I appreciated it deeply and being able to keep connection to the outside world when I couldn't drive helped me stay sane. My injury was one I managed to recover from almost completely (and it was only one hand) even though there had been no guarantee made. If I multiply my own injury by 2 and magnify it into a permanent loss sustained in service to my nation...well, it's a leap of imagination that is not very comfortable to make. How much less so to be living it? I have no doubt these gifts of technology can go a long way. If you're able please take time today to go contribute. If finances are limited check the site anyway because there are a myriad of ways to be supportive throughout the year and that's needed too.

Whatever you, please take time to thank a vet.