Thanksgiving is celebrated later this month and Christmas is on deck in December. Let’s not gloss over the important holiday Veterans Day where we honor those who served. Our observance of Veterans Day is one of those patriotic moments where we take some time to think about the military men and women who served and sacrificed for our nation while we enjoy the freedoms they secured.
Veterans Day has earned its own place on the calendar and in our hearts. It is the rare federal holiday that is always marked on the exact same date. While Washington’s birthday (Presidents Day) and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday are celebrated on a Monday (to create a three-day weekend), Veterans Day is always November 11. That’s because it reminds us of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, when an armistice ended the fighting of World War I.
The holiday now serves to honor all Americans who served, whether they saw combat or not.
However, instead of adding things to Veterans Day, this year perhaps we should hone our focus. Perhaps Americans could begin to come together to honor a very specific type of veteran: the 3,517 who have earned the Medal of Honor.
“Awarded by the President, in the name of Congress, the Medal of Honor commemorates those who have shaped our nation’s history and continue to inspire its future with their acts of valor, humanity, patriotism, and sacrifice,” the National Medal of Honor Museum reports. “Recipients must distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity, risking a loss of life above and beyond the call of duty.”
Because of the growing Museum, it will soon be easier to learn about the Medal and the values that it represents: citizenship, patriotism, commitment, integrity, courage, and sacrifice. It is set to open in early 2025 in Arlington, Texas, near the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium.
In addition to its exhibits and interactive experiences, the Museum also will cultivate leaders who embody the principles and values represented by the Medal at its state-of-the-art National Medal of Honor Griffin Institute. Just this week, the Institute was named in recognition of the generosity and support of business leader and philanthropist Kenneth C. Griffin, who gave $30 million to support the Museum’s mission of collecting and sharing the stories and values represented by the Medal of Honor.
Even before it opens, the Museum is creating resources for students. On Nov. 7, it worked with the Dallas Cowboys to unveil a new Medal of Honor-focused classroom resource sponsored by the NFL that teaches students how to establish and maintain healthy, supportive relationships with their classmates. The program is called “Character Playbook” and uses the stories of three Medal recipients to show the values of courage, commitment, and integrity. It is the National Medal of Honor Griffin Institute’s first major partnership, but it won’t be the last.
The Medal is also having a bipartisan moment in Washington, D.C. It is proving to be a symbol that lawmakers can rally around at a divided time. Both Houses of Congress are expected to pass legislation to locate a new National Medal of Honor Monument close to the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall. Two years ago, lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to authorize that monument. Now it is just a matter of where in D.C. it will be located. This is perhaps the only issue a divided Congress has agreed on in years.
“Long before Medal of Honor recipients each earned their award, they were children, parents, neighbors, and friends,” write Charlotte Jones, the Museum Chairman, and Chris Cassidy, the Museum’s President and CEO. “What made them heroes was not born on the battlefield but brought to it. It was not their circumstances that called them to sacrifice, but their choices. They are not different from us, but they represent the best in us.”
This Veterans Day let’s honor our country by remembering the Medal of Honor recipients who have fought for it. It should be an opportunity to make the holiday special and unique.
Jerry Rogers is the editor at RealClearPolicy and RealClearHealth. He is the host of 'The Jerry Rogers Show' on WBAL NewsRadio 1090/FM 101.5 and the Federal Newswire's ‘The Business of America’.
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