Even if they never met during their time in service, one veteran says there is still a bond among all who served.

Dave Faries here, noting that Scott Donaldson, mayor of Del Rey Oaks, is a U.S. Army veteran.

Nothing unusual about that? Perhaps. The number of veterans in the American population has fallen considerably over recent years—from 18 percent in 1980 to just 6 percent a year ago, according to U.S. Census data. 

“So few people serve,” Donaldson says. “When you talk with another veteran, you learn that degrees of separation are minimal.”

To his point, Seaside Mayor Ian Oglesby is also an Army veteran. His first post as an infantryman was at a base in the small Bavarian town of Kitzingen, assigned there in the late 1980s. As it turns out, Donaldson was sent to the same town at the same time, but to an air defense unit. The two never met.

Oglesby was transferred to Fort Ord, where he served out the facility’s last days. Donaldson was also ordered to Fort Ord. Once again, the two never knowingly crossed paths.

Donaldson laughs as he tells the story. He likes to speak with veterans about their time in the military and where it led them in life. Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto was an officer in the Army, commanding a port security unit before entering civilian law enforcement in Los Angeles. In a conversation with Nieto, Donaldson says he found out she was there in 1992, when he was deployed to the city during the riots. 

Sometimes it’s not the people you meet. It’s simply that a person served in the military. “That brings about a bond,” Donaldson observes.

While Veterans Day recognizes all who served, whether in times of conflict or peace, it began in the wake of “the war to end all wars.” The fighting in World War I came to an end on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. A year later, President Woodrow Wilson called for a commemoration. Armistice Day became a federal holiday in 1938. Following World War II and the Korean War, the day gained a new purpose. The name was changed to Veterans Day.

When I was growing up, veterans represented almost half of the population. My father was an Army veteran, as were both of my grandfathers and three of my uncles, the fourth being a Marine veteran. It was the era of selective service, better known as the draft. Now just 1 percent of Americans join the military. 

That means something to Donaldson. “You look at the percentage of people who served in the military, veterans are a special group,” he says.

So for Oglesby, Nieto and all the others Donaldson served alongside (whether he knew it or not) as well as for Donaldson and every other former service member, yours is a bond the rest of us will never know.

Take a moment to remember the veterans today.