Veterans Day 2026: Honor

Thinking of the theme for this year’s post has given me quite a few thoughts about what content I have on hand or can gather. One idea lead to another and another and another. Nothing stood out as worthy of the time. I knew something would come, but the calendar kept right on moving. I let time get the best of me, and I finally had to make a choice as to what I wanted to honor this time around. And there it was: Honor.

Honor has multiple definitions if you go by the book. Too many to deal with here in a simple remembrance post that, like the others, it abhors words in favor of imagery. So I let the pictures speak to me again and they have clearly stated that Honor comes in two forms. First, the noun. Honor is a characteristic that is embodied in a person. It is that portion of a being that exhibits the most dignity, the highest integrity, the most steadfastness, the most willingness to hold to virtue, the unquestionable nerve, and unhesitating selflessness. It’s the stuff that mottoes are made of. Legends are created around it. Civilizations built on it and fall in it’s absence. Second, the verb. More difficult to define. In plain language it is the action that we as benefactors of honor take in remembering all of the people with all of the nouns and their stories that have come before. We retell those stories. We mark these events with ceremony and formality. Speeches are made. Books written. Monuments are built and visited. The United States Congress even gets into the act by issuing its highest award; The Congressional Medal of Honor. As of this writing 3,552 have been awarded since its inception in 1861. Rare quality indeed.

My one notable display of honor happened in high school. I was privileged to blow Taps at a military funeral once. It was a profound experience that I will never forget. Something went up and down my spine in that moment that has never let me forget the feeling. Every time I hear it at grave side honors I am moved deeply. I doubt if I could ever make it through playing the call again without breaking.

The following is offered as a visual representation of the concept of Honor using my collection’s historical vintage images of US service personnel, events, and places. I do not know any of the people represented here. As usual it is limited in scope and serves to give us all pause to consider the gifts given to us by our servicemen and women, as well as to remember the givers themselves. God bless them all.

Gold Star Mothers National cemetery pilgrimage, 1957

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Hawaii

USAF Honor Guard at departure of President Kennedy from Andrews AFB, summer 1963.

Riderless horse, Black Jack being walked behind the casket of 5 star General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, 1964

One of the most hallowed places in America is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. Guarded around the clock by Sentinels from the 3rd Infantry Regiment, it is a place of honor and respect unlike any other in our nation. I proudly claim one former Sentinel as a member of my own family.

There are three different iterations for the Congressional Medal Of Honor; one each for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Below is a copy of the patent for the Gillespie design used for the Army beginning in 1904.

As deeply as I feel about the honoring of our military veterans, it is still difficult at times to find the right words to say. Too much, and the sentiment gets buried under the weight of the words themselves. Too little, and the intent gets overtaken by the silence. One man who had no problem finding the right words in the right amount was the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln. Often quoted, his words are a masterpiece of sentiment and I will close this remembrance with them. I can do no better than to add just two words more:

Thank You