This year’s observance of Veterans Day has a unique poignancy, for it marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.

The formal conclusion of that “war to end all wars” occurred in the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Would that that hope had been fully realized then.

A year later on that same date, the inaugural Armistice Day was observed. In 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day.

Although the end of that horrible war is in a time far removed from us in the present, there have been others that followed: WWII, Korean, Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan immediately come to mind.

The whys and wherefores of any of those conflicts are not to be debated here. What’s really important is that they were conflicts in which Americans were called to fight, and they answered, whether it was to liberate the oppressed or to eliminate the causes of conflicts that threatened lives and freedoms.

When the clock strikes 11 a.m. on Sunday, remember those men and women — past and present — who have served … and continue to do so.

We Americans should be ever grateful for their service.