Veterans Day 2022 Observance: 5 Things You May Not Know

ACROSS AMERICA — Friday is Veterans Day, always observed on Nov. 11 to reflect the signing of the armistice ending World War I at 11 a.m. — the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

The observance was originally called Armistice Day but was changed to Veterans Day in 1947 after it was used at a parade and other festivities honoring veterans in Birmingham, Alabama.

About 18 million people, 7 percent of the adult population, are veterans of the armed services. While the overall population of veterans is declining, the number of women who have served their country is increasing, according to a Census Bureau report, “Those Who Served: America’s Veterans From World War II to the War on Terror.”

A separate report, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, estimates only 167,284 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II from 1941 to 1945 are still alive in are alive in 2022.

Here are more quick facts from the Census Bureau report:

• Veterans alive today range in age from 18 to 100; their median age is 65. By service period, Post-9/11 veterans are the youngest with a median age of about 37, Vietnam Era veterans have a median age of about 71, and World War II veterans are the oldest with a median age of about 93.
• About 9 percent of veterans — or 1.7 million — are women, a number that is projected to rise to 17 percent by 2040.
• The largest number of veterans alive today — 6.4 million — served in the Vietnam Era from 1964-1975. The 4 million veterans who served during peacetime make up the second-largest cohort.

Here are five things you may not know about Veterans Day:

It’s Not Memorial Day

Memorial Day in May is a day to reflect on military personnel who gave their lives in service to their country, particularly in battle or from wounds associated with battle.

Veterans Day, on the other hand, honors those who have served the country in war or peace — dead or alive — although it’s largely intended to recognize living veterans for their sacrifices.

Don’t Thank Veterans

With all good intentions, people often thank veterans for their service.

“This may surprise you, but I am not comfortable with ‘thank you’ for your service,” retired Lt. Robert Yates, a helicopter aircraft commander and search and rescue pilot, told Military.com, a news and resource site for veterans, members of the military and their families.

“Most of us were just doing what we had to do,” he said. “It was not some noble quest; it was simply doing a job expected to us.”

He said his choice to serve in the military didn’t make him “any more or less entitled to gratitude than any other position of service.”

A better approach is to sit down and talk with a veteran. But “read the room” before starting a conversation. Military.com advised, because many veterans will relive some of the most difficult days of their lives on Veterans Day.

“It is not a time for one to share their political opinions, or ask about how many kills or battles they have been in,” John Raughter, the deputy director of media relations for the American Legion and a Marine Corps veteran, told USA Today last year.

“It is important to remember that Veterans Day is for all veterans, not just for those in combat,” he said.

An ‘Invisible Disability’

Suicide among veterans with PTSD is a national crisis. An average of at least 17 vets a day take their lives, according to the Veterans Administration.

About 3.8 million veterans have a service-related disability, a broad term that many people understand as limited to physical disabilities such as an amputated limb, chronic pain or an orthopedic injury.

“It’s the invisible disabilities that are a major issue for veterans,” according to the Disabled Veterans National Foundation. “PTSD, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders and many others are real conditions that prevent veterans from living a normal life.”

The key focus for the organization is homelessness among veterans, though it is not officially categorized as a disability. About 53 percent of homeless veterans have disabilities, and more than half of them have a mental disability, including substance abuse.

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“Many people tend to shy away from classifying a self-inflicted problem as a disability,” the advocacy organization said. “The problem with that thinking is that more often than not, those with substance abuse problems are extremely disadvantaged or destitute, and drugs or alcohol are a way to deal with that difficult reality.”

Veterans in this group also self-medicate to cope with stress, pain or anxiety. In the homeless veteran population, two-thirds have a substance abuse problem.

How To Talk To Kids About War

New York Times bestselling author Marcus Brotherton, author of “A Bright and Blinding Sun: A World War II Story of Survival, Love and Redemption,” wrote in an essay on Fox News that Veterans Day is a platform to talk to kids about war.

Some lessons he would impart:

• Be a peacemaker. When conflicts arise, think about how to solve differences peacefully, similar to how countries use sanctions and embargoes.
• Repeat the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said in his 1941 “Day of Infamy” speech to Congress that “hostilities exist.” The same is true today, though hostilities exist in different forms. “Regretfully,” Brotherton wrote, “as children you need to know that everyone around the world loves you or your country.”
• Tell kids they may one day have to fight for their country. “Think of it this way: Two kids are fighting on the playground, and you know it’s best to stay out of it,” Brotherton wrote. “But what if one child is bullied by a mean kid? You’d want to stop the bully, either by yourself or by calling a teacher to intervene.”
• War, despite the triumphant images of soldiers returning home, is always horrible. “When young soldiers go off to war, it’s not like they’re football players rushing onto the field for the big game,” he wrote. “War is not a pep rally. War is vicious hell. It’s to be avoided whenever possible because it’s always highly destructive.”

Other Countries Observe It, Too

World War I was a multinational effort, and U.S. allies observe their own traditions on Nov. 11.

In Canada and Australia, the observance is known as “Remembrance Day.” One big difference in Canada is that people wear poppy flowers, a tradition associated in the United States with Memorial Day. In Australia, the observance is akin to the U.S. observance of Memorial Day.

The observance is Remembrance Day in Great Britain, too, but it is observed on the Sunday closest to Nov. 11 with parades, services and two minutes of silence in London to honor those who lost their lives in war.