The shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, last week have cast a pall over Veterans Day. Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly killed 13 people and wounded 29. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama will likely send more troops to Afghanistan by January, and troops are still stationed in Iraq where the violence seems to have subsided but the country is still in a volatile state.

It all serves as a reminder of the importance of the U.S. military in defending our freedoms and preserving our interests. If most people don’t take time to think about our men and women in uniform, and the tasks accomplished by current and previous generations of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen, today would be a good day to start. This is Veterans Day.

Nov. 11, 1918, was the day the big guns fell silent to end World War I. The now famous 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month signaled the end of four years of the most horrible warfare the world had seen to that time. It was so bad, it was called the war to end all wars. If only. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 Armistice Day.

Though the day started out to honor World War I veterans, the seeds of World War II were planted in the Treaty of Versailles, signed by the allies against Germany in June 1919. By the end of World War II, many millions more veterans needed recognition and, on June 1, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law Veterans Day and Nov. 11 became a day to honor all veterans.

We all owe veterans a debt of gratitude for their immense sacrifice. While most of us go about our daily lives, they are in war zones, manning ships, flying aircraft or home safely from current and previous wars. Some veterans come home through Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where all veterans killed in action return for burial. Some end up in Walter Reed Army Hospital with wounds and scars of battle. Others appear to have come home unscathed but what they carry in their memories will be with them for life.

We ask a lot from our men and women in uniform and they never fail to deliver. We’ll use this day to honor all veterans but, really, every day is Veterans Day.