OUR MEN AND WOMEN – AT 8:15 A.M. ET:  Today is Veterans Day.  I'm glad it's actually celebrated on November 11th, and not shoved to Mondays to create a three-day vacation or sales event.

As we celebrate the service of our veterans, and their sacrifice, let us note that the youngest veterans of World War II this year turn 87.  The youngest veterans of the Korean War are about 79.  The youngest veterans of the war in Vietnam are about 57.  We have new veterans of course, men and women who have fought in the first Gulf War and in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Each year we say the same thing, that we are losing more and more of our veterans of the "big" wars, and that Americans are becoming more and more detached from the military.  Both are true.  Both are concerning.  Today many Americans have never met a soldier.  They are not necessarily taught in schools to respect military sacrifice.  The draft ended in 1973, so the last conscripted vet would now be about 58. 

Douglas MacArthur worried just before his death that there might be a time when Americans would refuse to defend their country.  We have seen some disturbing trends in that direction, trends aggravated by the militant left in our universities.  I still believe we will always have a solid corps of patriotic young people who will serve, and serve well.  But I do worry that Veterans Day, 20 years from now, may become a forgotten holiday.

We must prevent that if we want to safeguard our future.

November 11,  2015