With that attack America entered a war to be fought on two fronts; the creme of our youth was to be sacrificed and what became known as America's Greatest Generation took center stage.
Eventually the Armistice Day honoring the veterans of WWI became Veteran's Day to honor all the veterans of America's Wars. That is all the military veterans.
There were and are other veterans of war. Men and women who did their part to turn out the guns and weapons used to defeat the enemy. My dad, Paul D. Saxman, was one such veteran. He worked at the East Pittsburgh Plant of Westinghouse and tried several times to enlist; he wanted to be on the front lines. He was rejected because he was married with 3 children and because Westinghouse was an integral part of the industrial war machine that was to ultimately win the war.
Dad's rejection was painful. He saw his friends leaving, he didn't know the importance of his work and so he felt useless toward the war effort. As I remember he participated in every project there was to fight the enemy. In a funny sort of way dad was afraid his buddies would think he was 4F; no one would ever think he dodged his duty.
I don't want this to be thought of as a sour grapes post. I served 4 years in the USAF and I am proud to be called a veteran. My hat if off to those who serve, those who serve and survive as well as those who serve and populate burial sites throughout the world. These men and women are the real hero's for today.
But those who stay home because their duty requires them too - they are also hero's. Not everyone can or should carry a weapon, sometime what you do in the factory or the field is the most heroic thing you can do.
So on this Veteran's Day let's remember all the Veterans of war and continually pray for peace.
