Veterans Day

Veterans Day is always a solemn day of remembrance for those men and women who have paid the ultimate price in defense of freedom. But this year it is especially memorable; 90 years ago today, at 11 am, the guns of Europe fell silent, ending one of the most brutal wars in the history of mankind. More than 20 million soldiers and civilians died, and countless more were wounded. It was called the War to End All Wars, yet it directly led to another bloody slaughter in Europe barely 20 years later. In the end, freedom trumped tyranny, and today we honor the sacrifices of those who fought and died so that we might be free.

Years ago, I traveled to Verdun, France, where one of the bloodiest engagements of the entire First World War took place from February to December, 1916. More than 300,000 French and German soldiers died and nearly a million were wounded in a pivotal battle sometimes called the Gettysburg of France. The German goal of the battle was to find a place the French would defend at all costs, a place where they could bleed the French dry. I was shocked to see that very little of the landscape had changed; trench emplacements were visible snaking through the trees and the bomb-cratered fields resembled the surface of the moon. Nearby, the American battlefield of St. Mihiel marked one of our early baptisms of fire in European affairs, and the massive cemetery at Montfaucon marks the final resting place of nearly 15,000 Americans who died in the battle. It remains the largest American cemetery overseas.

I was also fortunate enough to visit Bastogne, Belgium last year. It was the town that was completely surrounded by the Germans during the December, 1944 Battle of the Bulge, the WWII battle that made the 101st Airborne famous. Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, the paratroopers dug into the frozen earth of the Ardennes Forest and refused to yield an inch as the Germans threw everything they had at them. Finally, the weather lifted and allied air forces airdropped supplies and ammo, and our boys pushed the Germans back for the final assault into Germany.

Today, the people of Bastogne are forever grateful to the soldiers who fought and died to give Belgium its freedom from Nazi tyranny. A huge limestone memorial caps a ridge overlooking the town and the now peaceful fields surrounding it. Engraved into the stone facade is the epic story of the battle, including all of the units that participated and the home states of the soldiers. The final line of the narrative states:

"Of these dead and of all who fought here, the now living may attest the greatness of the deed only by increased devotion to the freedom for which they braved the fire."

There are many places in Europe today where its citizens have forgotten the American sacrifices of WWI and WWII, but Verdun and Bastogne still remember. Regardless of your views of warfare and American foreign involvement, please take a moment today to remember our fallen men and women. Consider the freedom which we often take for granted today, the freedom that so many gave their lives to preserve, and give a silent thanks to their eternal memory.