Dear Unity Community,
Today is a special day, one that is set aside to honor those who have served in our military and those who continue to serve – a day of Thank You. Unlike Memorial Day, today we celebrate those who have served and are still with us, while we honor those that have passed.
The 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month. I am sure many of you have heard those words uttered on this day, and that is because it was on the 11th hour of the 11thday of the 11th month in 1918 that the armistice was signed ending the fighting of World War I, the war to end all wars as it was known. Since that time, November 11th has been set aside to honor those who have served in our military.
Unfortunately, World War I wasn’t the war to end all wars. We have had far too many since then – some have been marked by large battles, while others are just ongoing, constant violence. Growing up in West Africa, war was all too familiar to me as a child and teen. Where I grew up, the military was supposed to impose the will of the person in charge, not protect the people. As I got older, I would learn that there were men and women who serve in militaries around the world who do protect the people. They include U.N. Peacekeepers, N.A.T.O. Troops, and the United States Military to name a few. I am grateful for their service because I have seen how it makes the world a safer place.
As we get further and further away from World War I, and most of our World War II veterans pass on, it is important to honor these men and women, but we must also remember to honor those who are still with us. We need to say “thank you,” and “I appreciate you” to the veterans of our more recent wars including those who served in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Somalia, Kosovo, as well as those who have served, and continue to serve, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and countries around the world.
In the era of COVID-19, saying thank you to our veterans is even more important. They have fought battles that most of us cannot even imagine, and some, even though they came home, continue to fight those battles every day. For some of our veterans, their scars are obvious — a lost limb, a limp — but for others the scars are not obvious, they are inside. No matter what their scars are, we can help. We can say thank you for your service. We can say we appreciate you, we love you, we care about you and we are here to help if you need us.
In 2020, it can be hard to find the things to be grateful for, but we can all be grateful for the men and women who chose to serve their country and the families that support them. So to all our veterans, let me say Thank You, we’re so glad you made it home.
Due to COVID-19, we are unable to have our usual ceremony by the Library as we always do, but I wanted to keep the tradition of a message from Unity College’s President through this Poem:
Thoughts By A Young Veteran
The years others knew as youth, I spent learning the meaning of death.
The times others spent learning to love, I passed hoping to live through endless nights.
The moments others remember as laughs in classrooms, I remember as terror in the jungle.
The instants of pleasure taken for granted by others, I remember as forgotten hopes …
long ago crushed by the reality of war.
The unfulfilled dreams of others, are yet to be thought by me,
Since I am still in search of my elusive youth, Looking for years lost in combat,
which are no more… And never will be.
(Anonymous)
In Unity,
Dr. Melik Peter Khoury
President & CEO
Unity College
