It is fitting that Veterans Day falls in the month of Thanksgiving. Veterans are great examples of stewards. They offer up their gifts from God such as logistics, physical tenacity, technology and compassion for the good of our country and all of mankind.
When two bombs struck the USS Franklin.....O’Callahan heard a voice yell, “Padre! Padre! Flight deck forward!” He made his way through the smoke to give last rites to the dying and comfort the wounded.
O’Callahan yelled to get their attention: “Lads, lads! Wan to save our happy home?” They followed him as he organized them into firefighting parties. Soon a bomb came aboard but didn't emplode. It needed to be defused. Read more here to learn what happened next.
President Truman awards Lt. Cmdr. Father Joseph T. O'Callahan (far right) the Medal of Honor on January 23, 1946 at the White House.
The annual observance of Veterans Day in the United States on November 11th has it roots in the the armistice that ended World War I hostilities in 1918. The armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed thereafter that November 11 be observed as "Armistice Day." In 1954, Congress passed legislation that renamed the federal holiday "Veterans Day," in recognition of the service of veterans of all U.S. Wars.