Three Vets Share Why Veterans should be Honored this Veterans Day
"I hope American citizens will always, every day, be mindful that there have been many who have sacrificed and even given their lives and have not done so in a manner that we should take lightly. We should be cognizant of how grave and how costly their sacrifices were for us to live in this country."
(Nashville, Tennessee)—President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in the United States in 1919 marking the end of World War I. In 1954, Congress changed the name to Veterans Day in order to honor American veterans of all wars. "It is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations," Congress said in a resolution passed in 1926.
In honor of Veterans Day, Baptist Press has published the unique perspectives of three different combat veterans: Scott O'Grady, a former U.S. Air Force captain who helped enforce the NATO no-fly zone over Bosnia in 1995, Johnnie Caldwell, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy currently engaged in Operation Enduring Freedom, and Vietnam vet Pete Mosley. (Photo: Baptist Press)
"I hope American citizens will always, every day, be mindful that there have been many who have sacrificed and even given their lives and have not done so in a manner that we should take lightly," said O'Grady. "We should be cognizant of how grave and how costly their sacrifices were for us to live in this country."
Said Caldwell: "As a veteran, I also serve a higher purpose. I serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My heart swells knowing that God has put me here to spread His Word by giving testimony to all those who will listen and to my family who reads my letters. God has given me compassion for sailors who need a kind word or simply someone who is willing to listen to their concerns. Although I help fight terrorists and lead men and women in the skies over hostile territory, the real battlefield exists in our hearts as we struggle with sin. I pray to be a leader among men for Christ."
Mosley confessed the hardest thing he ever had to do was lead a Fourth of July parade. "Walking that half-mile was more than likely the hardest thing I've ever had to do because really the veterans that are alive are not the ones that need to be cheered. It's those that give it all [their lives]. As the Bible says, 'Greater love has no man than to give his life for his fellow man.' These things just make me very aware of how precious life is and how lucky we are to have it."
Concluded O'Grady, noting that nations fall because of citizens' lackadaisical mindsets and attitudes of entitlement: "I would like more Americans to be aware of our history as a country so that we can understand how our country came to be where it is today and so that we can know what our constitutional rights are."
