Freedom's Price

 Better than honor and glory, and History's iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men. ~Richard Watson Gilder


Memorial Day weekend - the weekend that launches summer. Schools are out or will be soon. Seniors are graduating and getting ready to grab life by the horns and see what's next. Some young men and women came to that stage of life during a time of war. Their next thing was joining the military and fighting for freedom and their country. Many gave their all. This sign I saw at the traveling exhibit of the Vietnam War Memorial tells it all. The toll of dead and wounded and missing number in the thousands in every war. 

But a picture like this one brings home that truth in gut wrenching fashion. Row after row of crosses mark the graves of our soldiers who stepped up to the line for their country and did not come home. Tomorrow, Memorial Day, our nation pauses to remember and honor those soldiers.


These heroes are dead. They died for liberty - they died for us. They are at rest.  They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest.  Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead.  ~Robert G. Ingersoll

My father didn't serve in the army. He was exempted from the military in World War II because he was a farmer, but I've known many men, including two of my uncles and two of my husband's uncles, who did serve our country during that war. Then young men of my generation faced the challenge of the Vietnam War and many served with honor and courage. Still now, men and women are putting themselves in harm's way to defend our way of life and fight for freedom. May we ever keep them in our prayers. 

Do you have family members who have served or who are even now part of the military serving our country? 

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.

The Grassroots of Patriotism

"The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage." Thucydides (Ancient Greek Historian and Author 460-404 B.C.)

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We went to our grandson's elementary school musical program last week. Their teacher chose a patriotic theme and here in this picture they are singing a song about the red, white and blue of the American flag - the symbol of our country and the flag that many soldiers have followed into battle. The kids led all of us in the Pledge to the Flag and then they recited the Preamble to the Constitution. "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..."

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Some things just give a citizen chills and bring tears to the eyes no matter how many times you hear it, and hearing it from a group of fourth and fifth graders made it even more touching as it was easy to see their enthusiasm and pride in being American. At the end of the program the teacher asked the veterans to stand to be recognized. We did that this morning in church and more than half the men in our church were standing. These men served their country and came home to continue their lives. Others did not. Others gave their all in service to their country and tomorrow is a day set aside to remember those men and women.

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My father didn't serve in World War II. He was exempted because he was a farmer. Two uncles were in the war. A cousin served in Vietnam and a brother-in-law worked on airplanes in the Phillipines during the Vietnam War. I'm sure all of you have veterans in your family you're proud of or perhaps you served in the armed forces yourself. If so, thank you. My husband sings in a Southern Gospel group called The Patriot Quartet and they have a song out on the radio "I'm Proud to Be an American Christian." In nearly all their concerts the song gets people on their feet and many times it's the veterans who are first to stand. They've put their lives on hold and stood for America before. And that's why I get teared up when I hear patriotic songs. Because being an American matters.

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How do you feel when you say the Pledge to the Flag or hear the National Anthem?