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What is Veterans Day?

By Jeff “Mario” Smith, Guerilla Reporter

November 8, 2005

November 11^th, a day on our calendars that is marked “Veterans Day” clearly should be one of the most revered days that we, as Americans, celebrate. Certainly, it carries more weight than a day celebrating the life of one man, or a day that celebrates a pagan ritual called Halloween, or a day that men are coercively obligated to buy a box of heart shaped chocolates for their “sweethearts”, but does it?

During the week prior to Martin Luther King day, schools across the nation inundate the fertile minds of our children with stories, many containing politically correct revised history, of Martin Luther King, Jr., the celebrated father of the civil rights movement in our country. His accomplishments speak for themselves, and it is good to remember him as well as the blight that infected this country for so long, but a week dedicated to studying just one man? While that might seem a bit excessive, it may be a fine example to follow as to what we should demand our public educators do for the week prior to Veterans Day.

The first of the five school days prior to Veterans Day could be dedicated to a study of the great men who gave up everything to separate this nation from the clutches of England, then an overbearing big brother trying to tax the colonists into submission and demanding loyalty to the king and to the state church. These must surely be our first Veterans. Children could dress up and act out the speeches of the great orators of those times, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the father of our country, George Washington, to name but a few.

To highlight the success of these great men, the day could finish out with a discussion of the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville, the Frenchman sent to America to study the huge success of this new nation founded upon Christian principles. Tocqueville said, “Within these limits the power vested in the American courts of justice of pronouncing a statute to be unconstitutional forms one of the most powerful barriers that have ever been devised against the tyranny of political assemblies.” One wonders what he would say today about the recent abuses of these courts that have become liberally indoctrinated and “politically correct”.

Day two could commence with a study of the time leading up to and the outcome of the Civil War and how that changed this nation of separate states with separate identities into a nation with a federal government that now dictates to the states how they are to conduct themselves. The numbers of lives given up on the battlefields to protect the future “way of life” that each side wanted to protect could shed light on just how important a time this was, how it tore us in half, and how it determined the direction our nation would take from that point forward. More great orators and the great speeches they made could be repeated; Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and so many other great men who loved their country.

The third day could begin with discussing the War of 1812 which cemented America’s independence from Great Britain, and the Spanish American War which brought the Southwest into the American fold. After memorializing the sacrifices of those men who gave all in those conflicts, a discussion of what led up to WWI could commence and then the men who gave all could be remembered. Many of us still have the uniforms or pictures of our grandfathers who fought in that war and we could bring these things in and do the old “show and tell” format.

The fourth day should begin with what led up to WWII and how that war changed the entire world forever. So many lives lost, so many lives forever changed, and the eventual creation of the state of Israel could be discussed. We still have WWII Vets who could be brought in to discuss their experiences.

Day five would begin with the UN Wars, the Korean War, still not ended, the Vietnam War where over 58,000 men were lost to eventually give up and leave, and the Gulf Wars still going on today. At the end of day five, all of the lives lost in all of these conflicts should be remembered, but this also would be the time to focus on the men and now, women, who have come back, and how we need to always respect their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families who lived hellish years of worry and loneliness while their loved ones went off to do what must be done. The importance of Veterans Day, not a day to go the mall or car lots for a sale, but as a day to remember, celebrate, and thank our Veterans should be stressed to our young people.

Veterans Day, formerly called Armistice Day, November 11th, is the anniversary of the Armistice signed in the Forest of Compiegne by the Allies and the Germans in 1918, ending World War I. On Monday, November 11th, 1918, a defeated Germany signed the Armistice, orders were sent to cease all firing, and the First World War ended. There were demonstrations over the entire globe, such that the world has never before witnessed. The 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month, in 1918, is the official ending time of WW1.

In November of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Armistice Day proclamation. In it he stated, “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 nation.”

 

In 1927, Congress issued a resolution requesting President Calvin Coolidge to issue a proclamation calling upon officials to display the Flag of the United States on all government buildings on November 11th, and inviting the American people to observe the day in schools and churches. It was not until 1938 that Congress passed a bill that each November 11th "shall be dedicated to the cause of world peace and ...hereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day." 

That same year, President Roosevelt signed a bill making the day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. For sixteen years, the United States formally impressively observed Armistice Day with ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where the Chief Executive or his representative placed a wreath. In most other communities, the American Legion took charge of the observance, usually including parades with military vehicles, soldiers, school bands, the boy and girl scouts, and religious services. At 11 A.M. all traffic stopped, in tribute to the dead, then volleys fired and taps sounded. Wouldn’t it be great if the people of this nation could stop being selfish just long enough to do this again?

Post World War II; there were many new veterans who had little or no association with World War I, so the word “Armistice”, meaning truce, became less significant. Leaders of Veterans' groups decided to try to correct this and make November 11th the time to honor all who had fought in America’s wars, not just in World War I. One community started the ball rolling.

Emporia, Kansas, on November 11th, 1953, had, instead of an Armistice Day program, a Veterans' Day observance.  Emporian Ed Rees was so awed; he introduced a bill into the House to change the name to Veterans' Day.  After this bill was signed, Mr. Rees wrote to all state governors and asked for their approval and cooperation in observing the changed holiday. The name was changed to Veterans' Day by Act of Congress on May 24th, 1954. Later that year, in October, President Eisenhower called upon all citizens to observe the day by remembering the sacrifices of all those who fought so gallantly, and a rededication to the task of promoting an enduring peace. The President referred to the change of name to Veterans' Day in honor of the servicemen of all America's wars.

So, grasshoppers, you see that Veterans Day is more than just a day for the malls and car lots to run sales; it is a very important day to remember always and it should be taught with reverence to all of our children in our state controlled public schools. It would be nice to see at the various remembrances not only Veterans and politicians wanting their votes, but also those Americans so lucky to experience the freedom these Veterans of this proud nation bequeathed to them. Politicians will come out on that day to grandstand, but will they involve themselves in assuring that our children are properly educated about this day’s importance? Maybe we need to let them know how we feel.

Rudyard Kipling stated it quite nicely when he wrote…

“God and soldier we like adore

in time of trouble but not before.

The trouble over and all things righted

God is forgotten and the soldier slighted.”

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