We call today Veterans' Day. When I was growing up, many people still referred to it as Armistice Day. In other countries, it's called Remembrance Day.
That last name would be attached to this day if I were President. Too often, at least here in the US, anything associated with veterans is, too often, used to glorify war and military power rather than to honor the sacrifices of those who served.
As Danny Sjursen has written, "The best way America can honor its veterans and fallen soldiers is to create fewer of them." He would know: Tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan left the West Point alumnus with PTSD severe enough that the Army retired him early, with the rank of Major.
I mention that because I reckon that PTSD is even more common among veterans than any of us realize. While nobody knows how to "cure" it, there are ways to cope. One of them is, of course, bicycling. A number of organizations offer free bikes, whether of the conventional types or modified machines, to veterans. They also sponsor rides and other cycling-related events as part of their recreational and therapeutic programs for veterans.
There is, however, an organization in Chamblee, Georgia, devoted exclusively to mountain biking for veterans. Appropriately enough, it's called MTB Vets.
Vets need more such organizations and programs and, to paraphrase Major Sjursen, less platitudinous praise or trite thanks.
