Honor our veterans on Owatonna

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the fighting of World War I came to an end in Europe, marking the conclusion of what many people said and hoped would be the war to end all wars. Three years to the day later, an unknown WWI soldier was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, with similar ceremonies taking place on the same date in England’s Westminster Abbey and France’s Arch de Triomphe. The day became known as Armistice Day.
Following World War II, the name of Nov. 11th holiday was changed officially to Veterans Day — a day to recognize all veterans who fought for our nation in times of war, especially remembering those who died in service to their country. Today, in ceremonies across our nation and here in Owatonna, those veterans will be remembered.
The ceremonies will take on added poignancy this year in light not only of the American soldiers still in harm’s way in Iraq, Afghanistan and other distant lands, but also because of the events last Thursday in Fort Hood, Texas, where Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist allegedly killed 13 and wounded 29 in a shooting spree. The tragedy at Fort Hood is a grim reminder of the potential threat that the American military faces not only on foreign battlefields but even in their homeland on what most people would consider to be the security of their own base.
Veterans Day is a day on which we should all pause to remember our military personnel and pledge our support to them. Their willingness to make the supreme sacrifice in battle is a shining example to us all of how we should look upon our service to our country.
In his inaugural address to the nation more than 40 years ago, President John F. Kennedy, paraphrasing the mystic Kahlil Gibran, said to the American people, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” By their actions, veterans have shown us what it means not to ask what the country can do for us, but showing us what each of us should be willing to do for our country.

Owatonna People’s Press editorials are the opinion of the Press editorial board. Other editorials, columns, letters and cartoons appearing on this page are the opinions of the authors and artists and not necessarily the People’s Press.

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