November 11 is Veterans Day, an important day to remember for all Americans.

Memorial Day is another public holiday that celebrates military service. Memorial Day is to remember those brave Americans who died in military service. Veterans Day is for all of those who served. Armed Forces Day in May honors those who currently serve.

I was never privileged to serve. When I graduated from high school, the War in Vietnam was over and the draft ended. I was willing to serve and would have reported had I been drafted. (Many young men fled to Canada to dodge the draft). When I graduated from college in 1976, I considered joining the military to enter officer training.

As far as I know, none of my close relatives died during military service. I think my great grandfather fought for the North during the Civil War. I have visited his grave near Conway, Arkansas.

My Grandfather, Thomas Biggs, served in the U.S. Navy during World War I. I don’t have any details about his service. I do recall that my Grandmother, Ona Biggs, told me she didn’t want me to join the Navy because if you go down with a ship, they can’t recover your body for a proper burial.

Image what it would have been like to be in the Navy at war in World War I. I think I would rather have been on a ship than in the trenches in Europe during that conflict.

My late Father, Harley Biggs, Sr., was in the Army during World War II. He served under Gen. George Patton in Europe and he fought in the important Battle of the Bulge. Germany made one last desperate offensive and that was turned by the Allied Forces. Dad was captured temporarily but freed by fellow soldiers before he was imprisoned.

Dad never wanted to talk about his military service. He was wounded and was awarded a Purple Heart. I think that killing enemy soldiers and being shot at is a weight that you can carry throughout your life.

A friend, Jim Furr, who is a veteran, told our Sunday School class that each of us should write down a personal history to pass along to the next generation. When children are young, they don’t always ask a lot of questions and a lot important personal history is lost.

This is one reason why I love World War II books and movies. God intervened on the behalf of the Allies constantly and it is seen in story after story.

My late half-brother Ben Campbell was in the Army during the Korean War.

My brother Bill Biggs was in Oklahoma National Guard during the Vietnam War but never went overseas. Back then, the National Guard was supposed to only protect the home front and not supplement active troops as they do now.

My late brother Tom Biggs joined the Navy and served a few months before getting a medical discharge. Another brother attempted to enlist but had medical issues and the last brother had a draft number of about 320 (out of 365 birthdates) and never served.

My oldest son Brian enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard and was deployed to Kuwait for nine months. Three thousand, two hundred members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard were supposed to go to Afghanistan but several hundred were diverted to Kuwait. He had a desk job and thankfully didn’t engage in any combat.

It was a very emotional ceremony when he and his fellow guardsmen returned safety to Oklahoma. Many prayers were offered on Brian’s behalf and they were answered.

I am proud of my family’s history of service. I am proud of our military. Service members are not perfect yet they voluntarily place themselves in sometimes dangerous situations to protect their homeland.

I was disappointed in the President Obama and his de-emphasis of our military personnel. Much of the world depends on a strong America to prevent evil nations from conquering their neighbors. No one ever attacked a nation because they were too strong.

I admire President Trump for his strong support for our military. He gets it. Trump is making sure we stay strong because any other path leads to disaster.

The World War I veterans are gone and we are quickly losing the World War II veterans. Korea veterans are aging quickly and that true for Vietnam vets, too.

Now we have a new set of veterans from the Iraq War and Afghanistan. They deserve the same level of support and respect.

Veterans Day usually comes and goes with little fanfane. It shouldn’t. Veterans stepped up to the plate when the fate of the world was in jeopardy and they deserve at least one day a year for us to remember.