When I was younger, going to Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas on Armed Forces Day was an important occasion. Veterans Day and Memorial Day were revered in a city where the military presence was strong. Recent politicians have called for replacing these solemn occasions with holidays celebrating American victories in World War I and World War II. To do that would be to undermine what makes the Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day special.

This is not to knock America’s performance in both world wars. It was impressive what Americans were able to accomplish. In fact, I’ve written columns about our victories in these conflicts. I was even criticized by some readers for my verbal attacks on Nazis for their killing of U.S. P.O.W.s and pretending to surrender in order to kill more G.I.s (I was accused of spreading “propaganda.” I’ve written how we should honor American generals, not praise Nazi Generals.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in Georgia. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His Twitter account is @JohnTures2.