Job Well Done

As President Joe Biden noted from the White House on the afternoon of August 31, as the final troops were pulling out of Afghanistan, ending a 20-year war, U.S. “veterans and their families have gone through hell — deployment after deployment, months and years away from their families; missed birthdays, anniversaries; empty chairs at holidays; financial struggles; divorces; loss of limbs; traumatic brain injury; post-traumatic stress.”

That’s the life of a service member. That’s the life they chose. They ask little in return — and often get it.

This Veterans Day, we take the time, as we do every year, to reflect on those men and women who have served in the armed forces over the nation’s history, from the Revolutionary War to the more recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq — the longest wars in the country’s history, and an era thankfully coming to a close.

The holiday was originally intended to mark the armistice that ended World War I, the “Great War,” the “war to end all wars.” Fighting in that war stopped at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 — the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Armistice Day was a day to celebrate the hope of permanent peace around the world — a hope that was dashed a few short years later, with the coming of the Second World War. After World War II, which saw the greatest mobilization of U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen that the nation had ever seen, Congress changed the holiday to Veterans Day, in order to honor everyone who served.

Perhaps, this year, the holiday may feel a bit more poignant, given the end of the war in Afghanistan and promises to withdraw the last of the troops from Iraq by year’s end — and it should. The sacrifices made by those who served in the Middle East for the past two decades, as Biden points out, have been extreme, and at times must have felt thankless to our soldiers, particularly those on the front lines. To them, we offer a hearty welcome home and congratulations on a job well done.

At the same time, let’s not overlook everyone else who has served in some capacity in the armed forces: the men and women serving here at home and at dozens of bases around the world keeping us safe, allowing Americans to sleep at night, knowing they’ve got our backs.

We should acknowledge all the sailors who swabbed the decks, the cooks who kept the soldiers fed, the support staff who kept the gears turning, the medical staff keeping soldiers healthy, and the paper pushers, as well, who made sure the supply ships ran on time.

To them, we offer the same welcome home and congratulations on a job well done. Thank you for your service — we are forever in your debt.