Paying homage to all those who have served the nation

Today we honor the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a day in 1918, known as Armistice Day, that signaled the end of World War I.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.

Further changes occurred in 1968, when Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill and moved observation of the day to the fourth Monday in October.

That law went into effect in 1971, but President Gerald Ford returned Veterans Day to Nov. 11, in 1975 because of the important historical significance of the date.

These days, Veterans Day is observed as a holiday by the federal government, which also means most people get the day off.

Despite the paid holiday, it’s an important date in our country’s history — and it’s also the perfect time to pay tribute to those who are currently serving in the Armed Forces and those who have served before them.

It’s very likely that we all know at least one person who has been in the military. Whether it’s a friend, close relative or distant relative, we’d probably be hardpressed to find someone who doesn’t know of anyone who’s been in the Air Force, Navy, Army or Marine Corps — and in many cases, we might know of someone from each branch.

According to History.com, as of April 2021, 19 million living veterans served during at least one war, 11% of veterans are women, 5.9 million veterans served during the Vietnam War, 7.8 million veterans served in the Gulf War era, of the 16 million American who served during World War II, about 240,000 were still alive as of 2021; 933,000 veterans served during the Korean War, and as of 2021, the top three states with the highest percentage of veterans were: Alaska, Montana and Virginia.

There are many events happening in the Antelope Valley today, in honor of veterans, but if you know one, personally, thank them for their service — it doesn’t matter how long ago they served — you can be sure their service made a difference for our country.