Veterans Day likely sparks in most Americans thoughts of battlefields and heroism, like D-Day’s “boys of Pointe du Hoc,” the Marines in Korea at the Chosin Reservoir, Vietnam’s chopper pilots, or the Special Forces in Afghanistan. Reinforcing this image of veterans are the hundreds of war movies Hollywood has produced over the last century, nearly all of which are focused on combat. Films like “Sands of Iwo Jima,” “The Bridges at Toko-Ri,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “The Hurt Locker” have painted our picture of the veteran.
And so, on Veterans Day, we remember the warriors whose courage and sacrifices preserved our freedoms and our way of life. Yet the intent of this federal holiday is to celebrate and honor all who have served or are serving in the military, both the living and the dead, whether equipped with a rifle or a spatula.
