Time Marches On …

Three words spoken in news reels that once ushered in the news of the day or rather news of the week, as the case may be and yet they are still relevant today. To march on to the future or into history is but one question that can be asked. For if we forget the history of time how can we march into the future times. From 1931 to 1946 Time magazine produced and showed these newsreels in movie theaters around the country to an audience of millions of men women and children. Many of whom would only learn or know of the world around them from just a few short minutes of film. Today we have more channels than we can count on one hand that can enter our homes to tell us the news of the world there is little difference between the two. Each use the media of the day to get let others know of important issues of the time. Well perhaps not everything was earth shattering, even then there were the puff piece stories you know the ones that made us all laugh or go aw.
In some cultures the past is celebrated with great reverence and appreciation for those that were part of it. Veterans Day is one of those days that we salute those of the living that have been part of our history that made their mark on a piece of paper and served this country. Each one making the commitment to give of themselves to protect us as a country and free millions of from oppression since we as a country began or should I say since before we even were a country. Yes let us not forget those that served while making our own country free from an oppressive government.
Veterans have been celebrated and vilified throughout our history and that of mankind as well. Each group of them has had to cope with many different names some today just as active and painful as many in the past. I believe that each war has had its own hated veterans or maybe it is just that a certain part of the people that they fought to help or protect has hated them. Either way it ends the same; name calling and violence against those that wore the uniform. Still each group was welcomed home from where ever it was that they were; well almost each one anyway. We walk past so many of them every day as they sit in the diner or the coffee shop or maybe even on the park bench. Some sit quietly on the streets for reasons that many of us could never fathom unless we were where they were.
Those that die in wars have often been called heroes while the surviving veterans have often been forgotten, all the while time does indeed march on. One cannot forget the famous line ‘Old soldiers never die; they just fade away’. We may have forgotten the song that it came from and perhaps even the man that is credited with its copyright we may even forget the man that it is most accredited to for saying. Yet once the line is heard it in itself is never forgotten. Even though over time we are proven correct in that once the soldier has done his duty they do fade from our minds. We think of them little or no more until once again they take the spot light. We also tend to forget to thank those that walked the lines while we as a nation were not involved in protecting ourselves or helping to protect or free others. Those are the ones that held down the fort so to speak when everything seemed all well with the world. They all fade away before too long and are remembered very little.
It would be easy on this day to take one group of veterans and lift them above all the others. A small section of them from a campaign or war or battle would be easy for us to remember and salute. However this day is not about just those few from just one group, it is about them all each and every one of them that served no matter the time no matter conflict, no matter year. We have set Veterans Day aside to embrace them for their service to this country. The eleventh of November was chosen for a reason for on that day on the eleventh hour was the end of what become known as World War I ‘the war to end all wars’ it was the beginning of what some had hoped would be peace for all time. Yet still they came out signed up to serve and one day as we now know they would fight again.
So to you my friends and family and family of friends I say to you take time on this day to stick out your hand and thank them for their service no matter the time or where they served. Keep in mind that they can’t all be in all of the cool or popular places at the same time. However each one of them played a part in preserving our liberties regardless of whether they served in a time peace or in a time of war. Take the time to lift your glass with your favorite beverage and offer up a toast in thanks to all that have served especially for those that have faded away. Forget them not if you can and pass down to those you raise the memory and the history as Time Marches On…