Veterans Day Quotes And Sayings Honor Vets Across The Nation

Veterans Day is November 11, a day that honors men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Because Friday is a federal holiday, many people are looking forward to enjoying a work-free long weekend, but it’s important not to forget the meaning of the day.

Originally established as Armistice Day in 1919, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower. Listed as one of 10 federal holidays on OPM.gov, there is always some confusion as to the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans. Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May, honors those who died while serving in the U.S. military service.

Whether you have a friend, relative, or co-worker who is a U.S. military veteran, show your support for their service — as well as those who are active members of the military — by sharing one of the inspirational Veterans Day quotes below in a card, by email, or via a text message. You can also share a Veterans Day sentiment with your social media friends by posting a quote on Twitter, Facebook, or along with a photo on Instagram.

Many of the Veterans Day quotes and sayings below were written by famous people and other quotes have no known author, but they are all worth sharing.

Lord, bid war’s trumpet cease; Fold the whole earth in peace. – Oliver Wendell Holmes

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, “Mother, what was war?” – Eve Merriam

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. – Cynthia Ozick

It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it. – General Douglas MacArthur

The most persistent sound which reverberates through men’s history is the beating of war drums. – Arthur Koestler

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die. – G.K. Chesterton

It is easy to take liberty for granted when you have never had it taken from you. -Unknown

Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties. – Abraham Lincoln

Either war is obsolete, or men are. -Buckminster Fuller

At the beginning of a change, a patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. – Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935

There never was a good war or a bad peace. -Benjamin Franklin

Have the courage to act instead of react. -Earlene Larson Jenks

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! ~Maya Angelou

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul. – Michel de Montaigne

Peace is not only better than war but infinitely more arduous. -George Bernard Shaw

It is easy to take liberty for granted when you have never had it taken from you. – Author unknown, sometimes attributed to M. Grundler

I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot. – Gary Hart

Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men. -George Patton

Freedom is never free. – Author Unknown

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HISTORY honors #VeteransDay with an inside look at grit and courage. #TheWarfighters special marathon event is November 11th at 8/7c. pic.twitter.com/Orhm9QGSXx

— HISTORY (@HISTORY) November 3, 2016

[Featured Image by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images]