The number 11 has come to represent significant markers in the military life of our country. In 1868, General Order Number 11 of the Grand Army of the Republic established Memorial Day as a nationwide observance to honor those who died in the Civil War. And there were many. In that conflict, which rocked this nation to its foundation, at least 620,000 lives were lost. These casualties are reported to exceed the nation’s military losses in all of its other wars combined, from the Revolution through Vietnam.
At 11 o’clock on Nov. 11, 1918, the Allies and the Germans implemented a temporary cessation of hostilities, or armistice, with the final peace treaty—the Treaty of Versailles—bringing a conclusion to World War I in 1919. This war, “the war to end all wars,” saw the loss of 116,516 U.S. lives. On Nov. 11, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day, to honor those who died in this war.
But that was not the war to end them all. Approximately 418,500 U.S. troops lost their lives in World War II, followed by 47,378 in the Vietnam conflict. Close to 2,000 were lost in the Gulf War.
In 1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower changed the name of the legal holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day, and the focus moved from remembering the dead in “the war to end them all,” to remembering all those who served in war.
The statistic not captured in any of the body-count reports is the aftermath of these wars—the number of people left crippled in body, mind, and spirit, proud to have served their country but unable to erase the horrors of war from their lives. Some of these people are languishing in military hospitals, which are underfunded and unprepared to deal with some of the issues veterans bring home with them. Some are missing legs and arms. Some are haunted by images of friends being blown to bits, or the memory of killing another human being. Many turn to alcohol and drugs to ease their psychological pain, and they fall below the radar of veterans’ services.
While Memorial Day is a day we honor the war dead, Veterans Day, Nov. 11, is a day we honor the living, those who saw fit to answer their country’s call to duty. We don’t know which war will be the one to end them all. Each one that comes along seems more terrible than the last. But we owe a debt of gratitude to those who have stepped up during these conflicts and put their lives in harm’s way. And what these people need is more than a thank-you and a salute on Veterans Day. They need a country prepared to help them live the lives they are left with, a country prepared to devote resources to healing their wounds. It is time we stepped up to the plate to advocate better care for those who have served so well.