America pays tribute each Nov. 11 to the millions who have served in the defense of our country. Veterans Day is a necessary time of reflection and showering of appreciation on those who stand watch over and risk everything on behalf of our country.

It is also an annual reminder that we should keep up our end of the bargain by offering more than just “thank you” in exchange for their service.

We pay homage again in this space, a day after an election that should serve as a bipartisan reminder of the freedoms American servicemen and women have worked selflessly to preserve.

One of the issues that doesn’t receive much attention is Washington is the availability, quality and promptness of the care and support our country offers its veterans. It gets lip service from politicians left and right, saying many of the right things about their intentions.

It is easy to express admiration for those who have served, but it has proved much less of a priority once leaders of both parties are elected. There is blame to go around.

Much more attention is required. We have a relatively young generation of volunteer warriors who have been asked to sustain deployments that leave them with scars deeper than skin and bone that will last a lifetime. We also have an aging legion of Vietnam veterans, many of whom have already been failed enough by the nation.

We hope everyone spends some time this week in reflection on the important service of our veterans and, more important, find at least one to personally thank. See our Community Calendar elsewhere in this edition for details on several local observances.

We can never do enough to honor those who served for this country, but should never stop trying in tangible ways.