Yes, it is worth remembering.

Here in the U.S, yesterday was Veteran's Day. Our Civil War re-enactment group participated in a nearby parade to honor the veterans. I found myself profoundly moved by the experience, by the chance to see and honor some of these brave men and women who served their country.

I have always considered myself peace-loving. War is ugly, war is foul. Those leaders who choose to cross the boundary from political rhetoric to physical aggression stand condemned before the generations of the fallen, who cry out in accusation from their very graves. Yet, when peaceful measures have failed (and you cannot convince me that sanctions would have stopped Hitler) it then becomes time for men and women who love freedom to take arms, and to place themselves in harm's way.

I had no one to personally remember yesterday; my grandfather, born in 1900, enlisted (in the US Cavalry, according to family legend) when he turned 18 but never saw combat. My father was a ne'er-do-well who rarely worked an honest day, let alone serving his country. My husband and my brother are now both beyond draft age. Yet by the magic of the written word, I can read accounts of those who have served, and come to know them... and therefore honor them.