It was the 11th hour of the 11th day of November 1981 when the guns fell silent for the last time.  Though the Treaty of Versailles would not be signed until June of the following year, this cease-fire brought about the end of World War I.  Roughly ten million soldiers and seven million civilians were dead or dying of their wounds on November 11, 1918.  20 million more were wounded.  The First World War was over.  And what was initially known as Armistice Day at first was born.

Today we know it as Veteran's Day.  On this day we in the U.S. honor all who have served in the military, both in time of war and in peace.  We have a separate day in May where we honor those who gave their lives while serving our nation.  Today is to honor all who have served in the military.

To my fellow veterans, from every era and every conflict, my deepest thanks.  I see all too often the sacrifices some of you made when I am at the VA Medical Center.  Missing limbs, and other horrific physical injuries, as well as the injuries that aren't visible but are no less terrible in their nature.  You've paid a price to ensure that we continue to enjoy the freedoms that our forefathers fought and died to achieve.

As we have finished our military involvement in Iraq and we continue to reduce our military commitment to Afghanistan, we must never waver in our commitment to caring for the veterans who served in those conflicts as well.  We must treat their injuries and ensure they aren't left behind in the effort to revive our flagging economy.  I laud President Obama for his personal contributions to the Fisher House, a facility to help the families of wounded veterans.   You can aid this worthy effort by donating some of your frequent flyer miles to the families who need to travel to be with their wounded warriors by going to www.fisherhouse.org something I would do if I have any frequent flier miles.

Let us hope that President Obama's professional commitment to veterans will not waver in the years to come.  Let us also honor some forgotten veterans on this day.

The late Lt. General Eugene Fischer (retired), who flew 200 combat missions in Vietnam, was an outstanding commanding officer and was president of the board that gave me early promotion to E-4.

Lt. Col. Marc Marrus (retired), the finest commanding offficer I ever had the privilege of serving under.

Chief Master Sergeants Zachary Taylor (retired) and John J. Major (retired), some of the finest senior NCOs I ever met and who taught a young NCO more about leadership and professionalism than any Professional Military Education course ever did.

All of the various instructors of course I attended during my ten years of military service.  I learned something of value from every single one of you.

All of the various supervisors I worked for directly and indirectly during that time.  Again, you all had something to teach and were generous enough to share that knowledge. 

Okay, that's the end of the personal recollections.  There are more forgotten veterans to remember on this day.

The 248 military personnel aboard Arrow Flight 1285 that died in the crash at Gander on their way home.

The military personnel who took part in the Berlin Airlift, ensuring the survival of those in the three allied zones of Berlin.

The men and women who served, and those who died, serving during the so-called "Cold War".  In particular, the 50 who died aboard three EC-121 aircraft that crashed during Cold War missions.

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Sunday morning and I don't plan to see a movie today.  There are two I'd be willing to see but for some reason I just don't feel motivated to go and see either of them.  Maybe I've been spoiled by seeing two excellent movies in the last two days and I don't want to end the weekend on a low note by seeing a movie of lesser quality.

So what is the point of having a pop-up blocker when websites are finding ways to get around these blockers and innudating us with their pop-ups anyway?  And isn't there some way for us to put "cookies" or whatever on our computers so that we don't get bombarded with advertisements for things we already have made a decision on?  For example, I am a Netflix subscriber.  Have been for awhile.  But I keep getting hit with ads urging me to take the free trial.  It's a waste of my time and their money.  An application that doesn't just block pop-ups, but specifically blocks those that you've already signed up for, or decided not to sign up for would be a big seller.



From the old bad joke archive: 

Did you hear about the lawyer who opened a new sushi restaurant in downtown L.A.?  It's called SoSueMe.

What do you call a guy with no arms and legs hanging on the wall?  Art.

What do you call a guy with no arms and legs lying on the porch?  Matt.

Fun with Classified Ads:

"Job intells answering phones taking appoiments down, cold calling and appointment setting."  Is intells anything like entails??

"You will be conducting a thorough in-person interview with potential clients, to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances, using the company's propriety tax software."  I hope you're better at tax preparation than you are at spelling/grammar since the word is proprietary.

"MUST love dogs (cats optional)"  I'm confused.  Love for cats is optional, or bringing your cat to work is optional??

"Non-experienced ACTRESS for Reality Television Series."  Uh, if it's a reality show, why would any acting be involved?

"A majority of the viewers will be male, so we're looking for a gorgeous French female who imperatively needs to be from France and speak Parisian French."  Could you have worked French into that sentence one or two more times?

No this date in history today.  There is only one historical event I want to focus on today.