RSSVeterans Day, 2009
Gene Lalor | November 11, 2009
Once again, we honor today those brave millions who have served and fought for our country over its history. Without them, we would not have a history.
We especially pay tribute to those now fighting in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. May they all come home healthy.
Remember to fly our flag! 
I proudly reprint here last year’s two Veterans Day salutes:
It was the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month when the ”War to End All Wars,” “the Great War,” ended in 1918 with the declaration of an armistice.
The fighting was over between the Allies and Germany, the bloodletting was finished, even though the politicians took another seven months to declare an official end to what would become known as World War I with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles: http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp
Ironically, the punitive and shortsighted nature of that treaty would lead to a far worse conflict a mere nineteen years later. The total of American dead and wounded in the Great War was 320,000, the total in the next war was in excess of one million.
That Great War didn’t come close to being the war to end all wars and it was great only in the sense that it was huge, something never witnessed before by mankind, a virtual world-wide war.
In recognition of the hour, day, and month when it effectively came to a conclusion, President Woodrow Wilson, who was complicit in the treaty which would lead to World War II, declared November 11th to be celebrated as Armistice Day, a national holiday.
That “holiday” name was subsequently changed to Veterans Day by President Eisenhower in 1954 in order to honor those who served our country in all of our wars, which made far more sense than commemorating the ending of a war which was mishandled so poorly that it bred a worse war.
I dutifully got my red, paper poppy on Saturday, an artificial, little flower intended to remind Americans of the service to our nation of our millions of brave veterans over the years. Later that day I asked my eleven year old granddaughter about Veterans Day and the symbolism of the poppy.
I can understand her inability to relate to Flanders Fields, a place where a mere 368 Americans died to liberate Belgium and where (real) poppies grew and still grow. I can understand her immediate response to my question, which was, “It’s a day off from school!”
What doesn’t sink in is why she hadn’t been taught the true meaning of Veterans Day by her public school teacher.
By today’s standards, it’s hokie and out of touch to talk about the debt we all owe to those men and women who have served and who have died serving in our armed forces.
Those who cringe at the thought of death should be reminded that it is another national “holiday,” Memorial Day, which is supposed to honor our war dead even though it is principally celebrated as the beginning of summer and time to start up the bbq and party!
Both Memorial Day and Veterans Day should be days of reflection, Memorial Day to reflect on and honor all those who died in the nation’s service and Veterans Day to reflect on and honor all those who served the nation and were fortunate enough to survive.
It’s too cold and inclement in most regions of the United States to fire up the barbie on Veterans Day which should allow for at least a few minutes of that reflection.
Just try to imagine what would life be like for you and yours had not fellow citizens stepped up, served our country, and maybe died for it.
Trust me, America would be a far different place had they not. And, the United States will be a far different country if the current generation refuses to serve in the next conflict.
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Ever wonder who wrote the “Marine’s Hymn” or “Anchors Away” and who designated them as the “official” songs of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy, respectively?
As we honor the millions of men and women who have served our nation in war and peace over the generations, it’s worth a few moments to read the brief histories of those songs as well as the songs of the United States Army, “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” our Air Force, “The U.S. Air Force,” and the Coast Guard, “Semper Paratus:” http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/milsongs.asp.
For those with an interest in the lyrics and perhaps singing along, see: http://www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/starspangledbanner.htm.
November 11th is a day to honor and to pay our respects to all those who served.
May God bless them all.
Contributor's website: http://www.genelalor.com/
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