On Wednesday this week, our nation will pause as it has for more than a century to pay tribute to those brave men and women who serve or have served in our Armed Forces.
Outside of New Year’s Eve, Veterans Day is the only annual holiday where the clock plays such an important role. The time is symbolic because it commemorates the end of fighting during World War I, a moment that arrived on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
Well over 42 million men and women have worn our nation’s uniform since the start of the Revolutionary War, giving their time, talents and even life or limb on our behalf. More than 17 million of them are still with us today, including nearly 300,000 here in the commonwealth.
Kentucky has always been at the forefront when it comes to military service. We had more casualties than every other state combined during the War of 1812, for example, and in the Civil War, we had more than 150,000 serve in the Union and Confederate armies, which was nearly 13 percent of our total population at the time.
There were 84,000 Kentuckians who took part in World War I, and more than three-and-a-half times as many fought in World War II. Tens of thousands of others traveled to Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or served here at home or at our bases around the world.
Individually, it was a Kentuckian who was one of the first American casualties in World War I and another who was the United States’ second-to-last survivor of that war. A Fleming Countian – Franklin Sousley – was among the six Marines who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, site of the most famous photo from World War II.
Over the years, the General Assembly has worked to improve services for and recognition of our veterans. That includes making Veterans Day a state holiday; awarding honorary high school diplomas to those who enlisted before they graduated; and establishing an array of veterans-only nursing homes and state-run cemeteries.
If you are a veteran, I want to thank you for stepping up when our country needed you. We can never fully repay you, but always know that your actions will never be taken for granted or forgotten.
