Thank you, veterans

November is a fitting month for reflection and remembrance. Even nature seems to attest to that. As the leaves fall and daylight fades, nature puts on its most radiant show of the year - a grand display that reveals the hidden beauty of life that has been well-lived.

For many centuries, Western Christians have marked November on their calendars as the month to remember and celebrate the lives of "all saints" and "all souls." And through accident of history, the eleventh day of this eleventh month is the occasion that Americans have chosen to honor our "secular saints" - our veterans.

To those who have answered duty's call by taking up arms in defense of their freedom and ours, a grateful nation says "thank you."