Veteran's Day is about those who fought for our liberty. The American automobile is a product of that freedom.

Veterans Day became an official national holiday in the United States in 1938. But it originally signified the end of WWI. This is why it is celebrated on November 11 each year. 

World War I ended at 11 a.m., of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. That was the time agreed upon when the Germans surrendered.

More than 116,000 Americans died in WWI. Globally, the war was responsible for 22-million deaths. The sacrifice paid to defend liberty is clearly worthy of a day of somber recognition. But, unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day does more than honor the dead.

Veterans Day honors all Americans have served in defense of American liberty

It was just before WWI that Henry Ford began production of the automobile on the world’s first assembly line plant (Dec. 1, 1913). The assembly line led to affordable production of cars and trucks. This would have a profound effect on society in America.

During WWI, cars and trucks were used by the combatants, including the American Expeditionary Force that fought in Europe. But combatants were heavily dependent on horses and mules to move men and equipment.

The year WWI ended, 5,555,000 passenger cars were sold in the U.S. By 1930, that number had increased to 23,035,000. By 1941, when the U.S. entered WWII, 29,624,000 passenger cars were sold in the country. By 2020, more than 1.2-billion automobiles were sold in the United States.

The connection between veterans and the number of vehicles sold in the country comes down to a matter of liberty. Veterans have fought and died to preserve liberty. And that liberty includes the right to move about freely within America. And the automobile exemplifies the freedom Americans have come to enjoy thanks to the sacrifices of our veterans.

Not only has that freedom provided for freedom of movement, it has also played a major role in the economic success of the country, which has branched out into all kinds of other industries and the financial wherewithal that drives America’s economic engine.

From day to day, it is easy to take the sacrifices of veterans for granted. At least, one day of the year, it’s appropriate that we should take a moment to thank them.