Located in North Carolina
Veterans Day at Better Display Cases
by Sean Meiers
Being a veteran and working for a veteran owned company, this day is important to me. Mo, our owner, served over twenty years in the Army. He comes from a long line of Army and Navy Vets who served in Vietnam, WWII, WWI and even further back than that. I am a five-year Air Force veteran with an additional four years before that in the Va Tech Corps of Cadets and another five as a Navy spouse. My dad served in the Coast Guard for twenty years, and both my grandfathers served in WWII.
First a little history: Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day and was created to recognize and remember those who fought in The Great War, later to be known as WWI. The armistice to end WWII was signed on November 11, 1918 at 11:11 and Armistice Day became a national holiday in 1938. In 1954, after WWII and the Korean War, it was renamed Veterans Day to honor all veterans. In 1968 it was switched to fourth Monday in October so that federal employees got a three-day weekend. In 1975 President Gerald Ford switched it back to November 11th.
Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day. The first recognizes those living who have served in the Armed Services, the latter, those who died in service to our country.
Ironically, we just got in our new, larger flag display cases for burial flags. Our previous cases we found out were too small for burial flags. They were designed for a 5' x 8' flag, whereas burial flags are 5' x 9½'.
I have been asked why I joined the military. The answer, for me, is quite simple: I felt that I owed my country at least four years of service. Back when I graduated from college, the plan was to spend twenty years; but things changed, including a draw down after the Gulf War. I was also influenced by Captain America comic books and Robert Heinlein's book Starship Troopers.
And avoid Starship Troopers, the movie; it was a disaster as it took the underpinning philosophy of the book and flipped it 180°. But if you want to understand the mindset of those who join the military, Starship Troopers will give you a very good start.
If you know someone who is a veteran, buy him a cup of coffee on Sunday. Unless you're at a Wawa: they're giving veterans a free cup of coffee.
For a little more on the history of Veterans Day, you can go these pages:
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/veterans-day-facts
https://www.military.com/veterans-day/history-of-veterans-day.html