On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the armistice that would end the first World War was signed. Since 1919 we have honored our veterans on this day.
Those, filled with infinite courage, who were willing to commit the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of their beliefs, those who will always be the penultimate visions of altruism deserve the honor and respect of a grateful nation. Through their efforts the tides of darkness have been pushed back time and again and freedom still rings as the free peoples of planet earth remain duly so. Whatever you call it: Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or Veterans Day; take a moment to think.
Take a moment to think about what it means to be a veteran, what it means to pass through military training programs and come out the other side as a warfighter. What it means to give up the comfortable life, to leave the people you care about most, and to suffer so that others do not have to. Think of what it to means to be the kind of human being that is forever willing to alter their life so that people like you need never alter theirs. Think of what it means to lose your friends to war, think of what it means to watch them fall and not be able to save them. Put yourself in the shoes of a warfighter.
Think also on what it means to be a pinnacle of discipline, leadership, and determination. Think of what it means to be reliable enough that people can count on you to do your job while bullets and shrapnel pierce the air around you.
Now carry all those scars back to civilian life and try to fit in and live amongst a population that is generally disaffected with everything you fought so hard for.
Regardless of what you think about the two current wars of the United States, please, honor those that fight. If you know a veteran: Give them a hug. If your parents or grandparents are veterans: Call them, just to admire their bravery. If you see a service member around campus: Thank them. Go to the Veterans Student Union: and just shake a hand, it doesn’t take much.
Perhaps even more importantly, take a moment to those who paid our price for freedom: There is a gate dedicated to those American souls from the University of Oregon who gave their lives fighting in the first World War, just south of MacArthur court by the driveway to the parking lot. The living no longer pass through it, but a plaque immortalizes the dead. Take a moment of silence at it, to reflect on what we have gained from their loss. In the middle of the Pioneer Cemetery on campus there is a monument to those who fought in the Civil War: Those who fought for individual liberties and to keep America whole when it seemed she would be rendt asunder. Scattered around campus are even more dedications, small things: plaques and statues that represent those who would give and ask nothing in return if it meant that American remained as free as she is. In your busy schedules, full of quizzes, improper diets, and last-minute assignments, as you scurry from building to building trying not to be late for class, take the time to stop and be thankful a moment for all those that sacrificed or were willing to sacrifice.
You probably know more Veterans than you think you do; not all of us talk about it. We are everywhere: We are friends, lovers, classmates, co-workers, siblings, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. We are human just like you.
Thank you for your time,
Gregory Lewis Dewar, Former USAF, Veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
