Veterans Day, Remembrance Day: Honoring All Who Served

November 11, 2010 - On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month—Nov. 11, 1918—the guns stopped, as Germany signed a cease-fire agreement that ended World War II. But “the war to end all wars” was too quickly named; a generation later, war spread again across Europe, North Africa, the Far East, and the Pacific. And many have erupted since.

Today, November 11, is Veterans Day in the United States; in Canada, it’s Remembrance Day. In both countries, as in many other English-speaking nations around the world, November 11 is a day for remembering and honoring the men and women, living and dead, who have served in our armed forces, in peacetime and in war, to defend and protect our great countries and the freedoms we enjoy.

As this message goes out today, 1,231 ALPA members—enough to staff a good-sized airline—are on military leave from their airline jobs, serving on active duty on several continents, oceans, and islands around the world. They are making the sacrifices that make possible our way of life. Their families, too, sacrifice for us; as the great 17th-century English poet John Milton wrote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Honor their service, along with the rest of our veterans, today—and the other 364 days of the year—with your bearing, your words, your deeds. Our veterans have earned that and more.