Veterans Day at Concord Academy has long been a topic of debate. Students and faculty alike discuss the question of whether or not we should take the day off. On one hand, it is a day to honor and respect veterans who have fought in wars. On the other hand, it falls extremely close to Thanksgiving break, and could be a necessary day for teachers to wrap up material. However, people agree that despite this, CA should still give Veterans Day off.
Veterans Day falls on November 11 each year. It marks the day, November 11, 1918, when an armistice was signed between the allied nations and Germany to stop fighting. In 1919, it was declared by President Woodrow Wilson that brief celebrations would take place on November 11 each year to honor this “Armistice Day.” In May of 1938, it was made a federal holiday. Later that year, President Dwight Eisenhower converted it to Veterans Day: a day to honor veterans and their families.
This is why CA needs to take Veterans Day off. There are veterans and children of veterans within our community. We should give them this day to reflect, to grieve, and to honor the time they served. Of course, veterans themselves should have this day off. But moreover, they deserve to be able to have this day with their families. It is difficult for students and faculty to take a random day off in November. The majority of other schools give Veterans Day off for this reason, and CA should follow in suit. We need to give this day off so that the veterans and friends and families of veterans in our community can honor this day together.
The military is in no way perfect. There is corruption; there is mass killing that is unnecessary; there are people who want to cause harm, but most people who join the military want to protect people. They want to fight for their beliefs. It is these people who should be honored on this day. Veterans Day was created to honor them. The CA community should continue this tradition. People in our community know veterans. It is necessary for us to allow the day to honor them and thank them for all they have done.