Origin of Veteran's Day
In 1921, an unknown World War I American Soldier was buried in Arlington National. This site, on a hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, became the focal point of reverence for America's veterans.
Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation's highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting at 11:00 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as "Armistice Day.”
Armistice Day officially received its name in America in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later by similar Congressional action. If the idealistic hope had been realized that World War I was "the War to end all Wars," November 11 might still be called Armistice Day. But only a few years after the holiday was proclaimed, war broke out in Europe. Sixteen and one-half million Americans took part. Four hundred seven thousand of them died in service, more than 292,000 in battle.
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My great-uncle Gene was gassed in WW-I. My family said for years after returning he ate on the floor with his plate in his lap. I still remember his antics from when I was younger. My sisters' husband is currently serving in Afghanistan. Apparently he retained all his "cool points" when he didn't lose lunch on a 40 min Blackhawk ride to the front lines. He got those "cool points" just for being a Colonel and MD and psychiatrist and going to the lines to help our soldiers in the first place.
And so it goes.
16 comments:
What we now call the First World War was known as the "Great War" until the second world war happened.
May all of our armed services personnel be blessed with much love, health and happiness.
I couldn't have said it any better, Sac RE.
Politicians cause wars.
lost: Economic discontent causes wars. Even ambition cannot start a war now when there is no economic discontent to leverage.
SacRE: Well said.
Wars are not necessary in this day and age. Just as are slavery are human sacrifice are not, and many other former cultural norms.
@ Wagga:
What we now call the First World War was known as the "Great War" until the second world war happened.
Mostly. The term "First World War" actually originated in the interwar period, from people who disagreed with the notion that the horrors of the war would make future wars impossible. It didn't become common usage until after the second world war.
The War to End All Wars didn't work out so well eh?
@Ogg
Interesting POV.
My dad spoke very little of his WWII experiences. He was a radar officer on a corvette in the Indian Ocean.
The only take-away for me from his time was "When you climb the mast to work on the radar, always have all the fuses to all the equipment in your pocket".
He turned 89 this week and has faded to the palest shadow of the man he once was.
One granddad served on a destroyer in the Pacific. He never talked about it. The other granddad was deemed too old for enlistment (39). Going through the family scrapbooks from that period, all of the young men were pictured wearing uniforms (on leave, I assume), and all were very handsome. In fact, everyone looked good. Pictures taken during the 1930s, they didn't look as good.
My great uncle saw active duty in Europe during WWII. During that time he took some German prisoners, only take have his position retaken and become a prisoner himself.
Fortunately for him, he treated the Germans very humanely, and was thus accorded similar treatment when the roles were reversed.
That American's conducted themselves this way during such a nasty and violent conflict says a lot about what type of country we were.
And that makes it all the more troubling that now, which less then a fraction of that threat in front of us, we are embracing torture by, among other things, approving an AG (and former judge) who won't object to it.
And that this approval was done by a _Democratic_ Senate tells us this is more than a George Bush thing.
We, as a nation, have lost something.
My dad was bomb disposal in Korea. He said they weren't allowed to run anywhere because nobody knew whether he was running to or from a bomb. Two takeaways from his experience. Don't accidentally fly model airplanes into the night MP's tent and if you don't know which stand of trees holds the sniper blow 'em both up.
Yup, its Remembrance day and I would normally wear a poppy on my jacket - as would most people in England. As a kid I used to walk thru the church graveyard on the way to school in Rye Sussex and often stopped by the memorial and read the names of the people who died in WW1. And later, the pub I went to, underage drinking of course, was called the Ypres. Though we pronounced it Vipers.
-K
Dawg - is your BIL an Aussie per chance?
My Grandad was conscripted into the Wehrmacht. He was a Czech living in Sudetenland and Hitler decided they would make good cannon fodder. He didn't last long - shot on the Polish border with Russia before my mother was even born. I like to think he served with honor. My other Grandfather was an alpine trooper with the Serbians - captured by the Nazi's and eventually released he migrated to Australia. Rememberance day is the time I think of both of them with sorrow, regret but also thankfulness.
Aussie? I know Aussies, some of my friends are Aussies. My brother in law is no Aussie.
His path to the front in the 'stan is a strange one. He was Army, donned an Air Force uniform and stationed in Dayton. Apparently there is still some fine print left over from the split off of the old Army air Corps and he finds himself essentially back in the Army again.
I recalled you mentioning your sister lived in Brisbane and I leapt to the conclusion (false) that she was married to an Aussie who may be the BIL in Afghanistan... (there are Australian SAS in Afghanistan).
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