Which, of course, originally marked the end of the First World War – that total, civilizational catastrophe for the West. But it was a war that had to fought and it was fought on the Allied side for the right reasons. My grandfather was there (along with his brothers, one of whom joined the Royal Flying Corps before America entered the War).

That is a painting of the breaking of the Hindenburg Line – my grandfather participated in that. In fact, a cousin found out not too long ago that grandpa was actually a bit of Blood and Guts Noonan…he and his unit ended up cut off by a local German counterattack and they fought, isolated, for hours until they simply ran out of ammunition and were compelled to surrender. Good for grandpa that it was only about six weeks before the end of the War!

But now we honor all veterans. Including, as it turns out, me. So, be nice! Just for today! For me, as a veteran, I don’t stand for the anthem for anything I did – I stand for those who did serve but never got back home. A living reminder that we’ve had (and have) people who literally have signed their lives over to us, ready at any moment to give all for others.

Spare a prayer for them all today, past and present.