Remembering Our Veterans

It may not seem like a criminal justice topic to some, but today is Veterans Day and I think it hugely important to remember what this day is about. I know that I would not be able to write this blog if it were not for the courage and sacrifice of those who have fought, who have sacrificed, and who have died to give me the option. Our criminal justice system is what it is because a group of men fought for it to be so. I'm sorry, men and women, who have fought from the beginning to make this country what it is. With that in mind, I think it important that we all take a minute to understand the history—our history—of this day and our veterans.
First, let me say Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corps, which turned 235 years old yesterday, November 10, 2010. The service was founded in 1775, but it wasn't until November 1921 that Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune issued Marine Corps Order No. 47 (Series 1921), an anniversary proclamation to be read to the command on November 10 every year. I've heard it said "once a Marine, always a Marine." To all those who are United States Marines, semper fi.
When my father was young, Veterans Day was actually Armistice Day. World War I ended hostilities with an armistice on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918. Though not the official end of the war, which would come by treaty in June 1919, many regard November 11 as the "end of the war to end all wars." President Wilson proclaimed the first commemoration of Armistice Day in 1919, and in June of 1926 the United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution stating the day "marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations." In May 1938, the day became an official holiday.
In 1954, after World War II (the greatest mobilization of fighting men and women in American history) and fighting in Korea, the day was changed to Veterans Day. In 1968, Congress, in an effort to establish the holiday as a three day weekend, moved the holiday to the fourth Monday in October, which did not go over well. In 1975, Congress returned celebration of Veterans Day to November 11, which took effect in 1978.
I hope you all will take the opportunity today to remember why we have the freedoms that we do, and we are able to criticize and attempt to improve our system of justice. Even in a time when you may or may not agree with the politics of a conflict, I hope you will support those who give their body and soul on behalf of their country. From those that pledged their lives in 1775 and up to today, they deserve our honor and respect.
The information above is chiefly obtained from:
U.S. Army Center of Military History
Military.com
Patriotism.org
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Marines.coms