This letter to the editor was authored by Long Beach City Prosecutor Douglas Haubert.
Long Beach’s Veterans Day Parade will not be held for a second straight year due to the pandemic. However, publicly acknowledging those who served is still important and should not be overlooked.
The history of Veterans Day is interesting. At the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, in the eleventh month of the year 1918, a truce was signed to end the fighting of the first World War. The date, November 11, became known as Armistice Day (armistice means “truce”) and it was celebrated in the United States, England, France.
Armistice Day acknowledged those who served in “the War to end all wars,” which saw almost 40 million casualties. World War I was not the last great war, of course, another one even larger followed.
On Armistice Day in 1947, a Navy veteran and community volunteer named Raymond Weeks organized a parade to honor veterans of all wars. Weeks’ efforts grew and in 1954, the holiday was officially changed to Veterans Day. Long Beach held parades for veterans, but its modern parade and course was started in North Long Beach in 1997 by City Councilman Jerry Shultz, himself a veteran.
Veterans Day is especially important to the families of the 1.4 million people who currently serve in the U.S. military. This represents less than 1% of all Americans, and the number is steadily dropping.
The number of veterans is also shrinking. Right now, less than 7% of the U.S. population is a veteran, while in 1980 it was about 18%. In 2016, the number of Gulf War-era veterans surpassed the number of Vietnam War-era veterans.
Veterans Day has deep meaning for my family. My grandfather, Lt. Col. Harvey Stockwell, served in the U.S. Army in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. After his retirement, he taught at Millikan, Jordan and Poly High Schools in Long Beach, leading the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) for 15 years. Stockwell Hall at Poly HS is named in his honor.
My father also joined the U.S. Army after college. He received orders to Vietnam when my brother and I were just two and three years old. He returned, fortunately, but some of his friends did not.
I did not fully understand what that experience meant to him until years later, when I visited the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. with him. I watched as he found the names of people knew on that wall. Using a pencil and paper he brushed over the raised letters until the names were imprinted on the paper. Then he solemnly folded the paper and put it in his pocket. He was silent a long, long time after that.
To me, the sacrifices made by my grandfather, father, uncles, and cousins (and their spouses), what they went through, it is extraordinary. That same sacrifice has been made by millions of veterans’ families in America.
Support for veterans should not be limited to one day. Saying thank you when you see a veteran or active duty soldier is a simple act of kindness that acknowledges your appreciation. Patronizing veteran-owned businesses is another way to show support. A simple internet search can help you locate local, veteran-owned businesses.
Employing a veteran is another thing you can do. Veterans tend to be hard-working and punctual, plus they work well as part of a team. I have hired veterans as prosecutors and found they excel when they are in court. The courtroom environment can be stressful and contentious, but veterans tend to remain calm, as if nothing will phase them after the rigors of boot camp or the battlefield.
Earlier this year, the Department of Defense presented the City Prosecutor’s Office with the Patriot Award for supporting employee veterans serving in the national guard and reserve forces. The employee who nominated us, USMC Staff Sgt. Brendan Boyes, grew up in Long Beach, served in Afghanistan right after his graduation from Wilson High School, and now is a Deputy City Prosecutor.
To Brendan, and all veterans like him, thank you for your service. It is now the duty of all of us to work hard to make sure our country is worthy of your sacrifice.
