By Geoffrey Corn

PROFESSOR OF LAW, SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE OF LAW. US ARMY (RET.)

The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month: the guns fell silent on the Western Front. On Veteran’s Day we honor all those who wore a military uniform of our nation, but in fact the significance of the day is rooted in a much deeper recognition of the common bond of service that connects all veterans.

The armistice that silenced the guns on the Western Front in 1918 brought to an end the most destructive war mankind had ever experienced. Soldiers on all sides made enormous sacrifice, with millions killed or permanently scarred by the experience. These men did not choose to fight and almost never influenced the decisions that imposed such an immense burden they were required to bear. But they bore that burden as servants of their respective nations. While the nature of warfare has certainly changed dramatically since then, bearing this burden is a thread that connects veterans throughout history.

It is this devotion to duty and willingness to face immense mortal risk at the call of political leaders who decide when, where, and often how to fight that we honor on Veteran’s Day. And that is a common bond among all soldiers. Indeed, most veterans will tell you that the greatest reward of their service – often the thing that kept them in uniform – was being part of an organization with a common and unquestioned commitment to selfless service.

This bond transcends national borders; soldiers who serve together in coalition operations see first-hand that there while their uniforms and equipment may look different, the core ethos of service is indeed a common foundation of respect. Even former enemies often forge bonds of respect that grow from the one thing that connected both friend and foe in war: devotion to duty.

When I reflect on the many bonds that defined my 21 years of experience in uniform, my mind goes to many friends and colleagues whose uniforms bore the flags of different countries. Indeed, I was often in awe of the professionalism of soldiers I encountered who served other political masters. This has always been especially true of my many friends and colleagues who served or continue to serve as military legal advisors. My respect for these veterans resulted from much more than the professional excellence I came to expect in my encounters. It was the moral courage they consistently displayed and how this ethos enabled them to speak proverbial “truth to power” in relation to the myriad of complex legal compliance issues they routinely encountered when advising commanders faced with the unenviable task of leading troops in combat.

It might seem odd that my reflection on selfless service would gravitate toward law and lawyers, but in fact the responsibility of such uniformed public servants is increasingly central to the legitimacy of the causes their armed forces are asked to fight for. It is also a foundation for the common respect forged among veterans, even if it may be imperceptible to many. War, or more specifically participation in war, involves the use of immense destructive power and the infliction of undeniable human suffering.

But the authority to inflict that suffering is not unlimited, a principle of war at the very foundation of the legal regulation of war. As noted by one of the great commentaries on law in war, for soldiers this means that war does not provide a license to kill. But it also means that war, and the obligation of duty, involves a duty to kill. And, as another author and veteran of close combat in Vietnam noted so eloquently,

“War gives the appearance of condoning almost everything, but men must live with their actions for a long time afterward. A leader has to help them understand that there are lines they must not cross. He is their link to normalcy, to order, to humanity”.

Understanding and respecting those lines is the essence of duty; of selfless service; of professionalism in arms. Our collective respect for all veterans presumes, or so I believe, that their service was a manifestation of the complex responsibility to answer the call to arms but to also respect these lines. And when men and women are thrust into mortal combat, their ability to do so is indeed worthy of respect.

Like the origin of Veteran’s Day itself, the honor this day reflects extends beyond just those of us who served in the U.S. armed forces. Military duty is, ultimately, far more complex than merely obeying orders; it is the requirement to retain an innate sense of morality in an inherently immoral endeavor. Every man and woman who has been called to walk this complex tightrope that requires balance between violence and constraint is worthy of the respect central to this national holiday.

Geoffrey S. Corn is the Gary A Kuiper distinguished professor of National Security Law, at South Texas College of Law, Houston, and a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel. Read full bio here.