Saluting Veterans Day

 

"From the world wars of Europe to the jungles of the Far East, from the deserts of the Middle East to the African continent, and even here in our own hemisphere, our veterans have made the world a better place and America the great country we are today."

 ~John Hoeven 

 

November 11 - Veterans Day

 

I have often set my stories in war times. When you're writing historical stories as I do, then you sometimes look for eras when the history was dramatic. War times certainly fit the bill for much conflict and character growth. But in the process of writing with so many war backgrounds I've done a lot of reading about wars and about the soldiers who fought those wars. It's one thing to make up characters to fight in wars. It's quite another to read about those men and women who actually did the fighting and serving and get a glimpse of the hardships and horrors they endured while responding with steadfast courage. Veterans deserve our thanks and gratitude for standing in the gap to defend our country in times of war and peace.

 

The War to End All Wars

 

I researched World War I for my novel, Angel Sister. In that story we relive many of the experiences of Victor, the father in the story, and how the war continued to affect his life years later. In my research, I kept coming across how everyone expected that war to be "the war to end all wars." It is because of the armistice of that war that we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11. The Treaty of Versailles wasn't signed until June 28, 1919, but fighting had ceased seven months earlier when an armistice went into effect between the Allies and Germany on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. And so that is the date generally regarded as the end of that war to end all wars and why we celebrate on November 11.

 

Armistice Day

 

At first the holiday was called Armistice Day. But then that war did not end all wars. Not even two decades passed before we were embroiled in another World War. I've read about those soldiers too. Young men, some only eighteen or nineteen, flying bombing raids, storming beaches, doing what had to be done for our country and for the world. So, after that war and the Korean War, the name of the holiday was changed from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.

 

Keeping the Date November 11

 

The Uniform Holiday Bill was passed in 1968, changing the observance of many of our holidays to Mondays. Beginning in 1971, Veterans Day was officially changed to the last Monday in October. Many believed changing the date lost the historical significance of the holiday and they refused to change their observance of the day to the new date. After several years of confusion, in 1978, the holiday was changed back to November 11, preserving the historical significance of the date and keeping the focus of the celebration on honoring America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

 

Thanks to Our Veterans

 

"The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognize for their commitment."  ~Judd Gregg

 

Thank you, veterans and families of veterans too.  

 

 

For more information about the history of Veterans Day, you can check out this link - http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

Remembering Veterans

This wall holds the names of veterans in our community.

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. ~ Elmer Davis

Do you know why we celebrate veterans on November 11? I like finding out the history behind holidays, so I did a little research.

 

In 1921, an unknown World War I soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Similar ceremonies occurred in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried at each nation’s highest place of honor. These memorial gestures all took place on November 11 in recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as“Armistice Day.”

The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and

Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and

Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.

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An act of Congress made Armistice Day a legal holiday in 1938. The men who fought in World War I thought it would be “the war to end all wars.” If that hope had been realized, November 11 might still be called Armistice Day, but only a few years after the holiday was proclaimed, war broke out in Europe. Over 16 million Americans eventually took part in World War II. 407,000 of them died in service, more than 292,000 in battle.

So at the request of veterans’ service organizations, the U.S. Congress amended the original 1938 act and changed the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. After President Eisenhower signed the legislation, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

 

In 1971, Veterans’ Day was changed to the fourth Monday in October. This met with such confusion and resistance that President Ford signed a law in 1975 to return the holiday to November 11. That date simply had too much historical and patriotic significance to be changed.

Today we recognized the veterans at our church as did many other churches. We have a couple of Vietnam War vets in our congregation. I overhead one of them thanking the other one, who was part of a helicopter crew, for his service. He said the helicopter guys had a special place in his heart. You can imagine how the helicopters coming to the aid of the ground forces might feel like the cavalry riding in to the rescue.

If you served in the armed forces, thank you.