A free doughnut is a nice first step. Krispy Kreme is one of the national franchises honoring veterans today by inviting them in for a treat on the house.

There are more, and we’ll get to them later. They are gestures of appreciation to the nation’s military veterans and active duty personnel.

They should also be a national prompt to rethink how we observe Veterans Day.

At its inception, on Nov. 11, 1919, the world was still reeling from the Great War, which had ended a year earlier. It had been a war of horrific new weapons and stunning ferocity. Nearly 10 million military personnel died, and more came home maimed in body or scarred in soul.

When President Woodrow Wilson declared the national observance of the first Armistice Day, it wasn’t to spark sales at the mercantile, create a three-day weekend or pander for political points. Americans on that day considered what war is, what it demands from those who wage it, and the reasons nations enter into it.

After World War II, Nov. 11 evolved first into Veterans Day in 1954, then, in 1968, into the Monday needed to make a three-day weekend.

With that last shift, it strayed from its reflective purpose and into the arena of sales and quick vacations.

In 1975, President Gerald Ford returned the observance to its rightful date. Even now, there might be pomp, politicking and honor guards, but the tough and honest discussions are a rarity.

So are the personal thanks that so many veterans would welcome.

Vietnam veterans, for example, remember coming home to a nation embroiled in demonstrations against the war. Many of those returning soldiers agreed with the protests. Many did not. Either way, it rankled that they did not feel welcomed home.

Vets who fought in Korea call their conflict “the forgotten war” for good reason. A grateful nation did not embrace them when they returned from the divided territory.

So thank goodness for those doughnuts, that barbecue, that free car wash.

Brown Bear Car Wash will give a free “Bear Essentials” wash to active and former members of the military, and spouses of those who are deployed. The wash is on the honor system.

Metro Parks’ Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Northwest Trek will welcome active duty military personnel and their immediate family to free admission with a military identification card.

Samurai’s Japanese Steakhouse, 19321 Mountain Highway E. in Spanaway, will serve free buffet lunches from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to retired and active duty soldiers, police, firefighters and their families.

Famous Dave’s barbecue restaurants will treat active duty military and retired veterans with military identification to a free meal from their select menu.

Applebee’s is springing for the free entree for veterans and active duty guests with military ID.

These businesses are honoring veterans and active personnel with their best resources: their product.

Now it’s up to us to take it further. It’s up to us to return the honor of reflection to the day.

Giving veterans the day off, with pay, is the right start. We don’t need a law for this. Employers should do it on their own.

Next, we should host a central event – say, at the Tacoma Dome – where vets, and the public, can gather and reflect. If vets need to download emotions into a professional ear – or simply a sympathetic one – we should make that possible.

If they would like to speak with interested members of the public about their experiences, we should make it happen.

If they want to chat with comrades from their war, their base, their era, we should make the connections easy.

We owe them more than our thanks. We owe them the opportunity to sort through what might have been the most intense period of their lives. We owe them our attention, if they want it.

We owe them that doughnut, and our respect.

Kathleen Merryman: 253-597-8677

kathleen.merryman@thenewstribune.com