November 06, 2022
Veterans Day 2022: Remembering and Honoring Sacrifice
Sacrifice is a word that means different things to various people. According to Merriam-Webster, sacrifice is defined as “something given up or lost.” On November 11, we will once again pause to honor our veterans, with the annual observation of Veterans Day. To myself, our veterans are the ultimate example of sacrifice.
For almost 250 years our veterans have protected our way of life. They place their lives on the line, repeatedly to defend democracy. From the Revolutionary War to the War in Iraq and Afghanistan, our veterans have sacrificed much.
We in the UAW honor our Veterans through Veterans Committees and by encouraging employers to hire veterans. We open each Region 8 conference by singing our National Anthem, saying Pledge of Allegiance, and remembering our veterans.
Veterans sacrifice in many ways. They leave their families behind to go to foreign lands. They miss first steps, last breaths, and many daily things we take for granted. Calls, letters, emails, and texts are thrilling to someone stationed away from home or in a foreign land.
Our veterans have lived in jungles, deserts, battlefields all over the globe. The debt we owe our veterans is real, and their sacrifice should never be forgotten.
Democracy survives in our country and other countries because of those sacrifices. So how do we honor such sacrifices? By defending democracy here at home. This starts with voting. We have a responsibility to vote in every election, national, state, local and institutional, we owe it to our veterans. We must protect our rights by exercising our vote. We also must make certain we elect representatives who recognize the sacrifices that have been made to defend and protect democracy. 
On this Veterans Day, please pause to recall the sacrifices that have preserved democracy. Find a way to thank a veteran for their act of courage, their sacrifice and what they mean to us, as Americans.
In Solidarity,
Mitchell Smith UAW Region 8 Director |
