On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Allied nations and Germany agreed to an armistice, beginning the process of ending World War I. The day was memorialized as Armistice Day, and many Americans still observe a few moments of silence for the tens of millions killed and wounded in “the war to end all wars” on Nov. 11. To remember all veterans, not just those who fought in WWI, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.
If we have never lost a loved one to war, we may imagine these men as distant, fighting in wars far away. We fail to recognize that “most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives — the one they were living and the one they would have lived,” as Ronald Reagan said in his 1995 Veterans Day address.
A few years ago, my family visited the Punchbowl Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, and came across a grave marker that moved us to tears. As we walked among the gravestones of veterans from four wars, we noticed an unopened can of Budweiser next to one of the tombstones. Someone wanted to have one last drink with their buddy from war — a drink that they would never get to have. Instances like these remind us that “when they died,” as Reagan continues, “they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us. And all we can do is remember.”
But honor is more than mere remembrance.
In order to properly remember those who have died, we must consider the conditions that led to the wars in which they gave their last full measure of devotion. Although Veterans Day is perceived as a day to honor our warriors, we must consider that it is, more broadly, a day to honor what they were fighting for: peace. All those who fought for our country were, in some sense, victims of a failed peace process. In order to properly honor them, we ought to examine our choices, where we succeeded and where we can more effectively ensure peace and uphold principle.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not arguing for pacifism. Rather, I argue for this: We must continue the conversation concerning the practices that best uphold our principles, ensuring that fewer men must join the ranks of those who gave their all. In this dialogue of remembrance, we must aim to do what is right by those who have fought, who are fighting, and who will fight. Veterans Day provides an opportunity to consider our debt that we can never repay and carry on the conversation.