By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

Nov. 6, 2024: I am writing my column pre-election and given the divisiveness this event has caused, I was searching rather to write about something that would be uniting in spirit.

As I looked at my calendar, I realized that Election Day was exactly one week before Veterans Day when we honor the courage, service and love of country of all of our veterans past and present and that is a tie that binds. As it was one said, “We don’t know them all, but we owe them all.”

Over 400 million Americans throughout history have served in the Armed Forces and 1.3 million do so currently. Of the 16 million veterans of World War II, less than 100,000 are living today and we lose approximately 130 of them daily. Over 2.7 million men and women served in Vietnam with 58,000 losing their lives. Of the 1.8 million who served in Korea, 7000 still remain unaccounted for. Currently there are approximately 9 million proud and humble veterans in our country.

November 11 was so chosen as the day to honor them as the armistice ending World War I, “The war to end all wars”, was signed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Armistices Day, so renamed Veterans Day by Congress in 1954, was first celebrated at Buckingham Palace in 1919 as the Treaty of Versailles was not signed until June 28, 1919. Upon hearing the news, our country went wild. Manhattan became impossible to navigate; church bells tolled and thousands of pounds of confetti rained on happy revelers. New York City Veterans Day parade is the nation’s largest and oldest beginning with the 1919 celebration.

The remembrance was not made a legal holiday until 1938 by an act of Congress. Originally commemorating the secession of World War I, World War II veterans petitioned Congress to expand its significance with all veterans being recognized for their service starting with the 1947 commemoration. Given the significance of the date, a bill was passed in 1976 to hold the holiday in perpetuity on November 11 regardless of the day of the week.

The holiday is celebrated by every allied nation with Canada and Australia also celebrating on November 11 under the name Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day in England is celebrated on the closest Sunday to the 11th with a televised parade attended by every major political figure and Royal on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

Though we hold dear the date of November 11 to specifically honor our veterans, President Obama said, “It’s about how we treat our veterans every single day of the year. It’s about making sure they have the care they need and the benefits that they earned when they come home. It’s about serving all of them as well as they have served the United States of America. “

Many question whether we are meeting this obligation.

-At some veterans hospitals, there is currently a two-year medical consultation delay when a disease requires crossing medical fields of expertise.

-Unlike senior citizens like myself who receive a government card that entitles them to receive medical care from any participating doctor or hospital, many veterans travel upwards of 100 miles to seek medical treatment.

-It is estimated 50,000 veterans sleep on the street every night.

-Veteran unemployment is digits higher than the national average and their rate of post-traumatic stress disease is north of 20% versus 5% for the general population.

-Traumatic brain injuries and PTSD often lead to unemployment, depression, violence, and suicide, coupled with the lifelong pain and hardship of children and families who suffer with them.

-After the submission of a 23-page document, 600,000 veterans are currently waiting for a disability determination.

Resident Clinton echoed President Obama‘s thoughts when he said, “Those who served in uniform deserve every chance to build good lives as private citizens and it is our duty to help them to improve their education, find good jobs, buy homes and protect their health.”

At this holiday season in particular, there are many worthwhile charities that supplement the care of our veterans and could so use our support to help them accomplish the dreams we all have. The veterans themselves asked that you check with Charity Navigator, Charity Watch or Guide Star where one can discern not only if the organization is legitimate but also learn the percentage of your donation that goes directly to our veterans.

Besides the needed financial support, our veterans so appreciate a genuine thank you and to honor those who have passed, we can take to heart President Clinton’s words. “We can honor the memory of our veterans best by remaining the best kind of Americans we can be by keeping our nation strong and secure to fulfill the vision of a better world that so many of our veterans gave so much to create. “