This past Monday was Veteran’s Day. Most of us have loved ones that have served. Hopefully, we all took a moment on Monday to thank a loved one or tell them how much we appreciate their service.

Sometimes we forget that serving in the military means sacrifice. These sacrifices come in the form of time away from loved ones, missed holidays and putting your safety at risk. All veterans are impacted by their time in the service.

Veteran’s Day came from Armistice Day back in World War I. In 1954, President Eisenhower officially changed the name to Veteran’s Day to commemorate veterans of all wars.

According to the National Center for PTSD, about 30% of Vietnam veterans experience some form of PTSD in their lifetime. For Iraq veterans, the percentage is about 11-20%.

PTSD, also known as post-traumatic stress disorder, used to be called shell shock, combat fatigue and war neurosis up until about a decade ago.

According to the National Center, it is defined as “a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident or sexual assault.”

According to history.com, as of 2018, 18.2 million living veterans served during at least one war. A significant portion of the student population at Washburn University are veterans. In 2017, Washburn was recognized as a military-friendly school. Last year, Washburn was awarded the Purple Heart University award. The first university in the state of Kansas to receive the honor.

As a school that has a high demographic of veterans, it is important that we take the time to recognize and appreciate these individuals’ sacrifice. Many Washburn veterans find their way into different campus organizations. In doing so, they continue to serve their university and community – just like they did when they served.

Please take the time this week to say thank you to a veteran. I promise they’ll appreciate it.

Edited by Jason Morrison, Adam White, Wesley Tabor, Jessica Galvin