At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, major hostilities of World War I were formally ended. It is no wonder that11am is the typical time that remembrances begin.

At the urging of U.S. Veterans organizations, it was renamed in 1954 to Veterans Day.

This year, we have a large group of Veterans that did not choose to leave active military service. These veterans are explainably hurt and emotional about the day. These include high skilled, trained, educated, and experienced service men and women from Privates to Generals whose service was disrupted by the personal whims of a petulant President and party politics.

Senior level military members including the leader of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, four-star General Charles Q. Brown Jr., and six top Pentagon officials. Then in June, the Supreme Court cleared the way for several thousand active military to be released because of their choice of gender. Those firings did not consider the amount of training, experience, or capabilities of these people. It was merely about the box checked on their identification cards. Some were nearing retirement. Others were close and completely lost out on the promise of a well ended career and retirement opportunity if they had 15 to 18 years already committed.

So, this Veterans Day is bittersweet for many. Please, remember those who served to protect our country, those who gave all they had including their lives, and also those who gave up their livelihoods in service to the fears of a political party. Honorable service is just that, no matter what the military members put on their identification forms.

Hug a Veteran. Wear a poppy. Take your family or friend who is a Veteran to coffee or lunch. Show them you do care about them and what they have meant to us as a country.