In one of the ESL (English as a Second Language) classes where I volunteer, the teacher introduces a citizenship factoid every week as some students plan to take the test to become US citizens. Citizens or not, we all learn something from the test questions.
That made me think that for Veterans Day this year, I should look up the history. The commemoration started after World War I, when many soldiers came home relieved to be alive, only to die of a pandemic not unlike the one that you and I know too well.
The day was originally named for the cease-fire that ended hostilities in the “Great War” but became “Veterans Day” in 1954, when a WW II general who had become president renamed it
Here’s what the US Department of Veterans Affairs has to say.
“World War I – known at the time as ‘The Great War’ — officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of ‘the war to end all wars.’
“In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: ‘To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…’
“The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m. … In 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word ‘Armistice’ and inserting in its place the word ‘Veterans.’ With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.”
I had forgotten why there’s a moment of silence at 11 a.m. on Veterans Day. Good to know. More here.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
Happy Veterans’ Day to all who have served our country!
Yes. If some of the wars were ill-advised, that’s on our leaders and on public opinion. We should all think twice about sending our military into unnecessary danger, especially as we don’t always care for them as we should when they get home.
Yes, I agree with you. We cannot blame them for fighting our wars and we need to support veterans better when they get home.
White House: “Since 2010, more than 65,000 veterans have died by suicide – more than the total number of deaths from combat during the Vietnam War and the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.”
Veterans are not getting the support they need. Time to give them more programs with support groups to deal with the fallout of war.
Great article!!
I learned a thing or two.
I did as well!!
It is the same here – our veterans do not get the care they deserve when they get home. They certainly do not get the pensions and perks that are handed out to the politicians that send them to war.
It breaks my heart.
I’m grateful for Veterans cemeteries, as I was able to track down the monument where my Father’s half-brother was interred at the veterans cemetery just south of San Francisco. I never had met Jack Cummings, who was bonded to his mother, who was my Grandfather’s first wife, but she left him shortly after bearing Jack. With information from the burial, I found where his mother had moved near Folsom on the American River. I went to the address, met the people next door who remembered Jack, who was a saxophone player and played in a backup band for Louis Armstrong when he performed in Reno. Jack took Louis fishing, and Louis rewarded him with a fly-rod that Jack gave the
Great story. Do add the missing words at the end. Who ended up with Louis Armstrong’s fishing rod?
Such a beautifully written epitaph on that tombstone.
If fighting doesn’t create peace, what is the point? I liked how the engraving said that ever after, he was a man of peace.
Yes.
Thanks for sharing. I learnt a lot!
I listened to several veteran-recognition programs on the radio today and took note that all the veterans I heard were against war.