 |
| The poppies at Flanders Fields, a large military cemetery in Belgium. (Image copied, without permission, from dailyhive.com) |
November 11 is a holiday to remember the cessation of hostilities in World War I, which happened 99 years ago. The guns went silent at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month of 1918.
For 20 years, WWI was known as The Great War, and was nicknamed The War to End All Wars. That didn't work, did it?
In 1919, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 Armistice Day, to commemorate the end of WWI. In 1954, it was renamed Veterans Day.
Also in 1919, Great Britain's King George V declared November 11 Armistice Day. In 1931, in Canada, the holiday was renamed Remembrance Day, and is celebrated as such in all countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (what's left of the former British Empire).
Most people, including me, confuse the meanings behind Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Veterans Day is to recognize and honor all of those who have served in the military. Memorial Day is to remember and honor those who died while in military service. (Thanks to Wikipedia for making that distinction.)
Personally, I think we should honor all of them, all of the time.
Today, I recognize and honor the following:
- COL Edwin French, USAAF, killed 1946 in occupied Japan.
- SGT Donald McIlveen, Royal Canadian Army, who fought in Italy in 1944-1945 and came home to live a long and happy life.
... all of my friends who fought in Vietnam, too many to name ...
... and these members of the next generation, who either recently served or are still serving:
- Jason Depew
- Jennifer Depew
- Robyn Chalupa
- Todd Williamson
- Alisha McKee
- Van James Walther Jr
- Chris Barela
- Casey Barnum
- Nathan Murphy
- Heather Hansen's husband, Joshua Hansen
- Dustin A Giesick
- Don Bugg
- Peter Boone
- Nikki Yaste and her husband, Alex Yaste
- Tom LeNeave
- Ruth Ann LeNeave
... and any friends that I forgot to list.
No comments:
Post a Comment