Veteran's - Remembrance Day

British television recently reminded me that today is not just Veteran's Day at home, but a Memorial-Veteran's Day Combo Holiday across the world. In Great Britain, they name today Remembrance Day and people wear poppy pins (I saw it on the British TV show Spooks) harking back to the poppies growing in the field of battle during World War I. November 11 marks the end of that War to End All Wars....that didn't. Today boys, and now girls, keep fighting. On Veteran's Day in the U.S. we honor the living participants. I think it's an important distinction. Honoring the dead on Memorial Day seems easier than honoring and responding to the needs of the living. Coming home cannot be easy for the Veterans and for their families. We ask much of them. Their sacrifice lies not only back on the battlefields and humanitarian intervention arenas, but also travels home with them. Today is a good reminder that we as a society and government must honor them AND care for their special needs---needs created by the service they give to us.

PBS produced a report on the increase of suicide among U.S. Veterans. So today I highlight the extra stress our current conflicts place on the minds of our servicemen and women. Keep this concern in your thoughts and prayers. Also, thank you servicemen and women for putting your physical and mental health at risk for others.