Veterans Day Is A Powerful Reminder Of American Greatness

Friday is Veterans Day, and there's no better time than today to remember all the badass men and women who wore the uniform.

Currently, it feels like a lot of people are down and out on America. All you have to do is hop on Twitter or fire up the TV to see people trashing this beautiful country we all call home.

It's disgusting and needs to end. Veterans Day is a great opportunity to remind people what the red, white and blue is all about.

Freedom has a high price, and it's a price the USA has always paid. Our service members have fought for it, died for it and killed for it. Do not test our resolve. You will lose.

No matter the enemy, our armed forces will meet them anywhere at any time.

Veterans Day is a great opportunity to honor America.

Delta Force commandos in Afghanistan after 9/11. (Credit: Wiki commons/Public Domain/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:1st_Special_Forces_Operational_Detachment-Delta_(Airborne)#/media/File:Delta_force_GIs_disguised_as_Afghan_civilians,_November_2001_C.jpg)

On Veterans Day, I always find myself thinking about D-Day. June 6, 1944 was the day the United States of America and allied forces decided to kick in the front door to Europe.

Young men from across America rushed the beaches carrying M1 rifles and Thompson submachine guns. Instead of working in factories, farms or attending school, they were in Europe destroying the grip of the Nazi regime on the continent.

U.S. soldiers storm Omaha Beach on D-Day. (Credit: Public domain, U.S. Coast Guard)

The vast majority had never even left America before the war. Now, on a murky morning in France, they were running straight towards fortified German positions. While the brave men on the beach hammered away to win the day, the airborne came in behind enemy lines and unleashed absolute hell on the German forces.

American paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day. (Credit: Public Domain, United States Government)

That's hardly the only WWII moment worth remembering on D-Day. In the Battle of the Bulge, American airborne forces from the 101st Airborne Division were cut off and surrounded by overwhelming German forces. When given the chance to surrender with honor, General McAuliffe simply responded with "nuts."

A soldier of the United States 101st Airborne Division occupies a defensive snow covered dugout foxhole position during the Battle of the Bulge. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The boys in the 101st held Bastogne against all odds, stopped the German counter-attack and broke the back of Hitler's forces in the west. The Germans could account for a lot, but they couldn't account for the resolve of some pissed off American farm kids with rifles. The actions of the 101st became famous in "Band of Brothers," which is mandatory Veterans Day watching.

On Veterans Day, I also think a lot about the Great War on Terror. I've been blessed to know a lot of men who fought at the highest levels of the war. While most people watched news updates about large troop movements, we had men working in the shadows for nearly two decades absolutely shellacking dudes. Their stories mostly remain secret and many will go to the grave without sharing.

However, as American Joyride viewers know, some of these dudes put in absolute work against America's enemies. They knocked down the Twin Towers, hit the Pentagon and heroes took down a plane in Pennsylvania. Our warriors got their gear, got on planes bound for the Middle East and started killing dudes like it was going out of style.

Specifically, I think about the guys from 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta. To quote a former SEAL Team 6 guy, "those dudes fought like absolute motherf**kers" during the GWOT.

There are a million other stories I could talk about, but on this Veterans Day be grateful and thankful for all the men and women who answered the call. We have the greatest military in the history of the world, and no matter what other nonsense happens, that fact remains unchanged. Meet a veteran, learn their story, buy them a beer and be damn proud of the flag and country they fought to defend.