Today in the United States is Veterans Day. It coincides with Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which honors the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the day when the Allies of World War I and Germany signed the treaty that ended the Great War. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed, in 1954, a bill making Veterans Day a national holiday. Not to be confused with Memorial Day (which honors America’s war dead), Veterans Day honors all who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, living and dead.

ICMA’s Knowledge Network has several useful resources for veterans as well as resources that provide ways for civilians to honor veterans in our everyday lives:

• The Knowledge Network has a group dedicated to military veterans who are now working as local government professionals or are seeking to enter the profession. Attracting and engaging veterans leaving the service are key components of ICMA’s Next Generation strategy.
• In the archives of PM magazine, an article was published addressing the “role of local government in veterans and military family issues.” Go here to read the in-depth article.
• This document addresses the challenges of reintegrating our service men and women returning from deployments.
• Additionally, ICMA is partnering with national, state, and local government organizations to ensure that local governments have the tools needed to reintegrate and care for veterans and their families. You can find those here.

What better day than today to thank the men and women who stand in harm’s way to defend freedom and democracy around the world.

I’ll leave you with a quote from General George S. Patton: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men [and women] who died. Rather we should thank God that such men [and women] lived.”

Jess e Himes
Knowledge Network Intern
jhimes@icma.org