Armistice Day started out on Nov. 11, 1919, as a celebration of the end of World War I, and it was dedicated to the cause of world peace.

In 1954 the name was changed to Veterans Day.

Those are the facts, but to find out what the holiday really means, I talked to some real veterans at the Veterans Home of California at Yountville.

First Lt. Lou Zauner, a WW II Navy vet, said that when he was a kid, Armistice Day was spent watching parades and reliving American history with pride. He said that vets were celebrated and respected until the Vietnam War, “the saddest thing to ever happen to veterans.” Young people didn’t believe there was any purpose for the war in which young men were drafted as “cannon fodder.” Zauner said the end result was that the country “turned on its own vets.” There was no respect for veterans and the vets themselves were reluctant to let people know they had served.

Zauner says he has seen the reverence for veterans return, citing the treatment of soldiers from the Iraq war.

This year, the holiday will be celebrated throughout the week at the Vets Home, with guest chefs from some of the valley’s finest restaurants, a visit from the Iron Warriors — a group of motorcycle-riding law enforcement officers who support vets and veterans’ issues — and a moment of silence at 11:11 a.m. on Saturday.

Cmdr. Chris Williams, who served in the Coast Guard during the Korean and Vietnam wars, said he never much thought of Veterans Day in his younger days, but “you couldn’t forget if you wanted to” at the Vets Home. He observes the holiday by going to the cemetery. It makes him feel that he has been part of something bigger than himself. Williams said it’s a time to reflect on the things you have in your life that didn’t come just from you, and to remember your responsibility to give back to the greater good. “Take some moments to remember and then let it go. Live your life the best you can,” Williams said.

First Lt. John Kinney said he has a similar feeling on Veterans Day. He served in the Air Force from 1942 to 1947. He was in training and got his orders to pack up and ship out on Aug. 5 — the day before we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.

He was spared from active combat and the refrain in his head is “Why me?” He’s thankful for his military training and the bigger lesson: People working together can achieve something greater than their personal survival. Growing up in the Depression, the son of a WW I veteran with lingering medical problems, Kinney said, personal survival was no small thing. The family didn’t have access to the services for veterans that are in place today and, Kinney said, they were too busy trying to survive to think about Armistice Day.

Col. Dick Hum, who served in the Air Force in WW II, Korea and Vietnam, is reminded on Veterans Day of the services veterans receive today and the responsibility the country has to give back to the men and women who served. He thinks about the populations he sees as most in need: homeless vets and veterans of the current war. Hum told me about Stand Down operations, where homeless veterans come in from the street “for a respite.” They can address their physical needs with eyeglasses, dental and medical exams, food and clothing. They can get help with legal problems or can get a new driver’s license; and they can hang out and watch movies. All important when one is homeless and may be treated as less than human most of the year. Hum told me that he believes 25 to 30 percent of the homeless population in America is composed of veterans.

Hum said that his mind goes to the veterans of the Iraq war, as well. He painted a picture of young soldiers crippled by mental trauma or horrific physical wounds trying to fit into the world at most vets homes, which are set up for vets who already have lived out much of their lives. When you’re a 20-year-old married veteran and you come back from war without a limb or limbs, traumatized by what you’ve seen, you and your family are forced to completely redefine what your future will look like. Hum said the challenge is to provide the services needed by the new vets.

Next year the Veterans Home in Yountville will open 40 beds for our newest veterans, 20 for severely wounded amputees and 20 for vets with brain damage and post-traumatic stress disorder. He hopes Veterans Day will open the discussion on these new areas of need in veterans services.

I’d like to thank 1st Lt. Zauner, Cmdr. Williams, 1st Lt. Kinney and Col. Hum. Their stories were so touching and personal, and I am deeply appreciative for the openness of their answers. It was a privilege to spend time with them. Thank you and happy Veterans Day.

What is Glad You Asked?

Glad You Asked attempts to answer readers’ questions. If you’ve got a question, forget “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Send your questions to me at jdecker@napanews.com or 256-2215. I’ll tell you what I find out.