Editorial: Make the focus of today on Veterans Day

There are holidays and there are community holidays. Veterans Day joins Memorial Day and the Fourth of July in that latter category.

For the suburbs and towns across the state, these holidays are a chance to put on their dress blues, so to speak - parades, speeches, ceremonies and more - to salute our country and honor the brave men and women who have served and often died while protecting the freedoms we enjoy and hold dear.

Yes, a big deal, indeed.

But this year, all three holidays have been undercut by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing veterans groups, community leaders and event organizers to significantly scale back, and in many cases eliminate cherished celebrations for the first time anyone can remember. The lingering election uncertainty and fallout makes for an added distraction.

However, those challenges must not get in the way of the importance of celebrating Veterans Day and honoring those who have served.

The holiday day originated as "Armistice Day" on Nov. 11, 1919, to commemorate "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918, as the day World War I ended.

Unlike Memorial Day, which honors the fallen, Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans and especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.

Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938.

Ever since, it has been marked here and across the country with remembrances and celebrations with veterans as the stars. Participants and residents alike see those events as a slice of Americana and a valued show of respect.

So, amid rising pandemic cases, crowd restrictions and social distancing, local event organizers have worked hard to ensure the focus today is on our military veterans.

There will be some in-person events, including observances in Des Plaines and Glen Elly, and a parade in Aurora. Many communities and groups have gone virtual, such as the interactive Veterans Day portal on DuPage County's website, Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin's Veterans Voices program online and the online discussion hosted by the Dunn Museum in Libertyville with Navy veteran Lalena Zoe Magnetta. Others will host fundraisers and special collections, such as Lombard's fall blood drive to honor veterans and Palatine American Legion Post 690 will collect household items for veterans on Thursday.

This year's Veterans Day celebrations will be a bit different from years past, but the spirit of the day must be as strong as ever.