The United States Military is one of the most crucial aspects of American Society; the history of our country is deeply tied to the development of the military. However, past all the wars fought or natural disasters responded, an often forgotten part of the military are those who committed their lives to our country, but no longer serve: veterans.

Veterans are those who served in The United States Armed Forces, and were discharged in any non-dishonorable condition. Veterans have a stereotype of being older individuals, those who fight in past wars (e.g. Korea, Vietnam), but veterans encompass a broad group, including all honorably discharged military individuals. This means that a single African-American mother, an Appalachian business owner, a Hispanic father of three, or the Vice President of the country – without necessarily fighting in any war – are all veterans.

Regardless of why any one individual joined the military, all veterans should be acknowledged for understanding the loss of autonomy, the duty to fight in conflict, and possibility of death in this job, and accepting it. Veterans are important to the United States of America, because of their choice to sacrifice their lives for the country.

Veterans Day originates from an earlier holiday known as “Armistice Day,” the day when, on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, in 1918, the Entente (the U.S. & allies) signed a cease fire with The German Empire, ending formal conflict for the First World War.

Initially, Armistice Day was a day of remembrance for those who lost their lives fighting in WWI, however evolved – in nearly all participating countries -, as a general recognition of those who fight for their countries’ militaries. In the commonwealth (British Empire & holdings), Armistice Day was transformed into “Remembrance Day,” in Poland, it is celebrated as their Independence Day. In the United States, Armistice Day was transformed into “All Veterans Day,” before being shortened to “Veterans Day.”

Each and every community in the United States celebrates Veterans Day differently. The United States Armed Forces may dedicate a parade to veterans of specific branches, units, or campaigns, while a young kid may write a card in school dedicated to their father. For others, it may represent a more solemn moment. That same father who receives a card from his child may go to the grave of his friend who fought alongside him in Iraq. 

Celebration or commemoration of Veterans Day depends on who you are, who specifically you are celebrating, and how you plan to give recognition to veterans. Many schools celebrate Veterans Day by inviting the parents or elder siblings of students to school, acknowledging them for the service they have done. Hardin Middle School has done large assemblies for the veterans of their community, setting up entire events for the occasion.

St. Charles High School was not among those that participated in the commemoration of Veterans Day. Unlike Hardin Middle School, SCHS does not formally celebrate the holiday. SCHS did acknowledge Veterans Day as an ongoing holiday, but did not commit to any active celebration of it.

In my opinion, this is an error. Regardless of political affiliation or ideological alignment, acknowledging, recognizing, and respecting all veterans for the service they’ve done is obligatory. Especially given how problematic many services for veterans can be – on part of the U.S. Government -, I believe that the bare minimum is to give them the respect they deserve – respecting them for being willing to sacrifice their lives for our country.

The fact that a middle school does more for veterans than a high school seems embarrassing, and to me, sends a potentially dangerous message; are our veterans not worth celebrating after a while? At some point, are we supposed to not care about them? Or do we already not care about them?

However, the lack of celebration on part of SCHS doesn’t come down to political or ideological reasoning, ulterior motives, or whatever conspiracy to destroy Veterans Day. Rather, it’s just that nobody has requested any formal Veterans Day celebrations.

In an interview with Principal Ted Happel, he stated how “we’ve just never had anything organized, like, ever. Not that I’m not open to it, it just hasn’t happened before.”

“This is my 16th year [here], we’ve never had anything organized. Do we need to acknowledge it more? Probably, especially on [Veterans Day]. Like it’s not something that we don’t want to honor, it’s just never been something in the past, so it’s not something that we go: ‘oh it’s time to do something for this,’” Happel explained.

When asked about whether or not celebrating Veterans Day is a realistic goal for SCHS, Happel responded: “Yeah, I think it’d be great to do something on that day – maybe not an assembly, but at least some sort of recognition to honor those whether they are in the building or not.”

“It’s just something that we need to be better at remembering to do, or I would love it if a [student] group would be willing to organize something for that, that would be awesome. It’s just that no one has come up to us asking to do this sort of thing… but I do think we just need something to recognize them, even if it’s little,” Happel said.

With that said, I believe that we can come up with a reasonable solution and plan moving forward on the topic of Veterans Day.

Perhaps a moment of silence for veterans who died in combat, the creation of cards for veterans in our building, and a brief memoir about veterans day & veterans, recognizing them for their efforts, and thanking them for their contributions.

We don’t need an extravagant assembly, a fanatic display of support for the U.S. Military, or something of that sort. Just an acknowledgement and appreciation to veterans – a thank you from us all, to them all.