VETERANS DAY: Honoring those who defend our liberty

Posted by Staff and Andy Schmitz | Nov 11, 2026 | Feature This article was originally written by Andy Schmitz and published to Baptist Press. Southern Baptist Army Chaplain Andy Schmitz serves as a bioethicist on active duty at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. This Veterans Day, we commemorate more than 251 years of American military service. Established on June 14, 1775, the Continental Army preceded the nation whose independence it would help secure. From the beginning, American patriots took up arms to defend a people who would soon appeal in the Declaration of Independence to the “Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions.” They understood liberty as a gift from God, worthy of their courage and sacrifice. For more than two and a half centuries, the American experiment has endured under the gracious hand of “divine Providence,” as the Declaration’s signers acknowledged.

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