Veterans Day has rolled back around with the University of Maine allocating Nov. 8 to 19 for activities and events hosted by the Veterans Education and Transition Services (VETS) center. The observance will begin with a flag ceremony on the Mall and end with the Veteran Faculty and Staff Community Connection. Given many students’ emotionally charged and fervent relationship with the election just last week, it is important to remember that these observances honoring veterans is not an endorsement of U.S. politics in foreign affairs or approval of past and ongoing conflict but a recognition of individuals partaking in lifelong acclimatization back to everyday life.
Nov. 11, 1918 marked the end of World War I, which eventually became the date of Veterans Day following a 1938 act from Congress making it a national holiday. Unlike Memorial Day, this day is meant to honor the service of everyone in our military, dead and alive. In practice, it is about sharing gratitude and love to our family and friends who served our country. Veterans Day is not only unique to our American military. Canada and Australia celebrate Nov. 11 as “Remembrance Day.” Great Britain holds their own parades and services on the Sunday nearest to Nov. 11.
Veterans Day, as we define it, goes beyond our own politics and our own country. Not only do other countries have their own connections to the federal holiday, but it brings the idea of the individual back to what can often become a faceless venture. Soldiers can fall into a level of anonymity in their ranks, their objective being to follow orders. While this can be effective in achieving a greater military goal during active wartime, every soldier deserves to be their own person.
A famous quote from American author Kurt Vonnegut states, “One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters.”
In conversations regarding Veterans Day, there is often the topic of heroism. Some believe that serving time in our military in itself defaults the person to be a savior. Others argue that heroism is etched into sacrifice throughout service. However, finding ways to put people on pedestals for the industry in which they live, or devalue efforts for political ramifications may detract from what heroism is in its most raw form. This Veterans Day, heroism can have a more somber understanding. Perhaps it lies not only in the actions, the institutions or the surpassing of peers but also in the passion and compulsion to serve loved ones with full acceptance of the possible costs.
In its idealist form, Veteran’s Day gives an opportunity to give a face, a personality and a slice of empathy to people first. Students are excited to have a long weekend and take a break from university work. As the sun sets sooner, the weather gets more bitter and the workload piles up, Veterans Day may not mean anything more than a chance to catch a breath to students. Yet, most Americans either have family from the military or have some connection to those who were in service. A few words of recognition could mean the difference between the day of being a faceless soldier and being a person.
