Today is Veterans Day, an important day here in the USA where we honor those brave women and men who have fought to preserve our freedoms and way of life. This weekend I have been dealing with “Remembrance Day”  in the United Kingdom which like Veterans Day in the USA is November 11th which was the day of the Armistice that ended World War I. The thing I did not realize until about a decade ago is that the British honor the fallen on November 11th the way we honor the fallen on Memorial Day. The British celebrate Veterans Day (recently renamed Armed Forces Day) over the summer.  It is somewhat strange that the United States and Britain reverse the holidays but both days remain important celebrations to honor those who have fought against the scourge of fascism and nazism, worked to defeat international communism and have in recent years taken on terrorism.

Regardless of people’s views on recent military conflicts it is important today to honor those veterans here in the US and those who have fallen across the pond in the UK.