The provenance of one of our most honored words is an ancient one.  The word veteran stems from the Latin noun veteranus, which is defined as an old person.  (Its adjective, vetus, simply means old, and, by context, experienced.)  The noun veteran has been part of the English language since the early 1500s, and was defined even then to describe a matured and experienced soldier.  With Great Britain’s continual wars, there were plenty of veterans to go around.

Even with the passage of time and the fluidity of our vernacular, the term veteran has held true for those who have experienced combat, or at least the rugged military life (ever been to boot camp?), and lived through it.

It is interesting to note that the adjective inveterate, which is defined as being firmly established and deeply rooted in a habit or experience, is from the same etymological beginning as the noun veteran.  The two are strongly connected, as veterans are staunch and firmly established in their collective duty.

From ancient times, the societies that lasted the longest always honored and took care of their veterans.  For the Roman Empire, the veteran was among the most respected, and gave an ambitious warrior the best opportunities for advancement.  Julius Caesar was a respected and fearless general first before ever advancing to the office of emperor.  In fact, most of the Caesars had significant military experience.  They had proven themselves to be inveterate leaders. 

On the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea there is a walled fortress city, built in the fourteenth century, for the purpose of caring for the homeless Knights Templar who had spent their lives in the Crusades.  It did not matter their nations of origin – if they had spent their lives in the service of the war, the fortress on Rhodes took them in.  Each sector of this still extant place flies the flags of their respective nations throughout the walled Medieval city.

Gettysburg has offered an equally high tribute to the veterans of our nation.  It is also the place where the highest price was paid in the country’s loss of human lives and suffering.  Because the slain and mortally wounded from the Battle of Gettysburg were countless – military scholars and historians have attempted to give the number but it’s impossible – the killed and mutilated had to be quickly buried due to the excessive summer heat.  Gettysburg attorney David Wills saw the unmarked mass graves, and knew they would soon be erased and unremembered.  Knowing this was unacceptable, he decided to act.  Because of his efforts, on November 19, 1863 the first National Cemetery for the Union slain in the most pivotal battle of the Civil War was dedicated.  President Abraham Lincoln uttered his famous Gettysburg Address on that occasion.  In that speech, he honored the soldiers from both sides of the conflict.

Since that day in 1863, many more national cemeteries have been placed all over the world to entomb and honor the many thousands of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who offered the ultimate sacrifice.

Gettysburg, though, was the first.

A nation that honors the veteran is a nation worth preserving.

Pass the word.