19 Million Veterans to Thank

Photo: 2022 Ms President US Valentina McManus reads as (left to right) Selectman Sean Connelly, American Legion Post 78 Commander George Besse, Selectwoman Maureen Kozlark, Ridgefield State Representative Aimee Berger-Girvalo, First Selectman Rudy Marconi, and RHS Choir member Graham Kitchin, look on at the Ridgefield Veterans Day Ceremony on November 11, 2022.

Like Memorial Day, Veterans Day arrives with solemn ceremony, eloquent speeches, and important reminders of the service that millions have provided not only to our country, but to nations around the world. Unlike Memorial Day, though, Veterans Day honors the living–the 19 million civilians who have completed their military service and now work or live next door, across the park, or upstairs and contribute in other ways to who we are as a nation.

A dip into the history of Veterans Day and into current data about veterans reminds us of the changes in the U.S. military over the past 100 years and, not coincidentally, in American society. 

Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day (a synonym for armistice is “truce”), a designation given to the date of November 11th in the aftermath of World War I. The end of the “war to end all wars” was not formalized until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.  Armistice Day was established, however, to commemorate the “temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany [that] went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918.

World War I unleashed the horrors of war on a scale unmatched in recorded history, compelling the U.S. Congress to issue a concurrent resolution in 1926 declaring that “the recurring anniversary of this date [November 11] should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.” Congress designated November 11^th a legal holiday in 1938. 

History subsequently proved the idealistic goals of Congress’s 1926 resolution very hard to achieve. By 1954, in the aftermath of World War II and Korea, the nation’s more than 16 million veterans had convinced Congress that the word “Armistice” should be changed to “Veterans.” 

Today, over a century since the end of World War I, November 11^th is about honoring those who served in the U.S. military. Frankly, we still could use at least one day, if not many days, dedicated to “exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.” 

And yet, it is appropriate to recognize those who have served our nation in the past in both peace time and war. On this November 11, Ridgefield Democrats do so with enthusiasm and gratitude. We also note facts that are both heartening and sobering about our veterans:

• With passage in 2022 of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, Veterans Administration health care and benefits are expanded to assist veterans who are or have been exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances–covering veterans who served in the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras. It provides toxic exposure screening to every veteran enrolled in VA health care. The Act’s full name honors Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, who died in 2020 as a result of toxic exposure during his military service.

• Although the 1.4 million individuals who now serve in the U.S. military around the world (deployed in 40 percent of the world’s nations) will one day be veterans themselves, overall, between 2000 and 2018, the number of veterans decreased by one-third. This reflects the overall decline, in the years since the Vietnam War, in the numbers of people employed by the U.S. military. 

• Today, 1.9 million (about 9 percent) of U.S. veterans are women; as women continue to enter the military, that will grow to an estimated 17 percent by 2040.

• Compared to veterans who served in previous periods of conflict, veterans whose military service occurred after September 11, 2001, were the most likely to have a disability from their time serving, even after accounting for the different demographic and social characteristics of veterans that could influence the diagnosis or reporting of disabilities. Heartbreakingly, post-9/11 veterans had a 39 percent chance of having a disability rating of 70 percent or more—significantly higher than veterans from other any other periods.

• Today, Veterans Health Administration information for LBGTQ+ veterans states that its “policies require that your health care is delivered in an affirming and inclusive environment and that VHA employees respect your identity.” The VHA provides these veterans with comprehensive health services, from gender affirming hormone therapy to virtual mental health care to guidance regarding infertility.

The United States has, many times, deployed its military power for the common good. Its mistakes are legion, too. Nevertheless, the millions who have served in our military, quietly doing the jobs they trained for, are to be commended for their dedication, self-discipline and teamwork under often perilous circumstances. Think about them this Veterans/Armistice Day and their role, at least sometimes, in truly just causes fighting oppression and tyranny and aiming for democracy and peace.

Angela S. Liptack is Vice Chair of the Ridgefield Democratic Town Committee, which provides this column.