By Tim Cherry
Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 21, 2012

U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Belvoir, honored military members who served and sacrificed in various conflicts during a Veterans’ Day observance Nov. 8.

Keynote speaker Col. Scott Sanborn, U.S. Army Cyber Command /2nd Army, chief of staff, discussed helping veterans find employment, among other topics, during his address at the Cold War Memorial on Long Parade Field.

“For more than 237 years, the heroic actions of our veterans endure in the pages of history,” Sanborn said. “Today we remember our veterans not only for their valor on the battlefield but also for their enduring contributions to our country that continued well after they returned home.”

According to the U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the holiday started in 1919 when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the observance of Armistice Day, Nov. 11, which ended World War I.

In 1954, the name was changed to Veterans’ Day to honor servicemembers in all the nation’s conflicts, according to the Army’s history of Veterans’ Day website.

In 1968, Congress moved the observance from Nov. 11 to the fourth Monday in October. Legislatures later moved the observance back to Nov. 11 in 1978 and it’s been recognized on this day ever since.

Belvoir’s observance pays respect to past and current veterans who protected the nation from foreign enemies. Don Carr, Fort Belvoir, director of public affairs, established the event’s patriotic tone by quoting President Abraham Lincoln’s second presidential inaugural address in March 1865.

“‘With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan,’” quoted Carr from a speech delivered by Lincoln, one month before the end of the Civil War. The 16th president was presumably referring to assisting the men, women and children impacted by the war to recover from accumulated wounds.

Carr called this the “essence of our purpose on Veterans’ Day, not just to remember and honor the service of our veterans but renew our commitment to caring for them and their Families.”

One way civilians can care for military Families is by helping them find employment after their active duty careers.

The Army is in a transition phase as the combat in Afghanistan nears its conclusion. More than 130,000 Soldiers will leave the Army this year and more than 500,000 by 2017, according to Sanborn. The veterans of operations such as Desert Shield and Desert Storm encouraged the Veterans Day participants to help servicemembers leaving the Army within the next five years to find jobs. Sanborn also mentioned services such as the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the Army Career Alumni Program and the Hero2Hired program as resources available to active duty personnel transitioning into civilian life.

“Soldiers bring exceptional training, values and experience to their civilian jobs,” said Sanborn who believes the Army provides active-duty members valuable leadership and technical skills. “They deserve every opportunity to use the skills, knowledge, leadership and experience they gained during their time in the military and our Army is committed to doing that.”

Sanborn applauded the thousands of men and women who have served in the nation’s conflicts throughout the country’s existence. He believes current servicemembers carry the same unwavering strength that former veterans carried during their time of service.

This commonality amongst military members is evident for Lt. Col. Brian Zarchin, Fort Belvoir Garrison, Headquarter Battalion, commander.

Zarchin’s grandfather, Maj. Milton Zarchin, served during World War II. His Army career included a stop at Fort Belvoir’s Abbot Hall, which is the same location Zarchin assumed command of the Headquarters Battalion in July 2012.

“My grandfather … walked these same grounds in 1944,” Zarchin said. “This special connection to him and Fort Belvoir makes this Veterans’ Day that much more special for me.”

Alice Ess, co-president of the Belvoir Garden Club, joined Sanborn and Zarchin during part of the ceremony to lay a patriotic wreath in honor of all servicemembers.

The wreath, created by the garden club, was placed on the Blue Star Memorial Marker on Lieber Gate.

“It takes a profound strength to wear this nation’s uniform … no amount of time can sever the connection that unites veterans in a unique and everlasting bond,” Sanborn said. “This uniform has changed many times in the last 237 years. What hasn’t changed is the patriotism and commitment of the men and women willing to serve this Nation. Once a Soldier, a Soldier for Life.”