Walt Kelly and Veterans' Day

For some reason, POGO creator Walt Kelly took Veteran's Day VERY seriously. Every year on November 11 he would stop whatever was going on in the storyline and post a commemorative strip. He started in 1949, the first year that POGO was nationally syndicated, and as far as I know, he didn't stop until he was dead.

Walt Kelly did not see action in any war. He was of age in World War II but due to health issues he did not serve in the military. Instead he worked in the Army's Foreign Language Unit illustrating manuals.

Perhaps precisely because he never served in the military he was more sensitive to the veterans around us. 

Here are the first two Veterans' Day strips, from 1949 and 1950, respectively. Click to enlarge.