Veterans: Service of U.S. Military Men And Women Benefits World
WISCONSINREPORT.COM (11/08/2014) – Veterans Day should mean more than a date printed on calendars to people in the United States of America, and, for that matter, the rest of the world.
Military veterans, living, and those in honored graves, have committed their lives to protecting the way of life, lived in the United States, and, to helping people of other countries when USA politicians feel the American Military might make a difference in other parts of the globe.
November 11th is much more than 11/11. It has a special meaning to United States military veterans, their families, and to U.S. residents who may not know a veteran, directly. Veterans Day is the time set aside to remember and give thanks to veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States for the sacrifices they have made that, in the end, often have benefited the people at home, and, those abroad.
Veterans Day has come to be known for much more than remembering the military men and women who have lost their lives as a result of being placed in harm’s way through the warring process. It is the day we also remember the sacrifices living military persons have made that follows them and their families through their lifetimes, well beyond the conflicts in which they lost arms, legs, eyes, suffered internal injuries, brain trauma, and other issues, some of which don’t show up until years later.
This Veterans Day, November 11th, we remember the military dead, the living and wounded, and their families, for the sacrifices made on behalf of the United States of America, in countries, large and small, around the world. We appreciate the efforts of living Veterans, and will, likewise, never forget the ultimate sacrifices made by those who have lost their lives.
Thank you, one, and all, no matter what war, police action, or disaster, you have served in around the world.
Veterans Day, as it is now known, was not always called Veterans Day, nor was it always observed on November 11th? The day of recognition has come a long way from the beginning. In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. 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 so long ago, all took place on November 11, giving universal 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”.
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 really was “the War to end all Wars,” as it was billed, 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 in World War II. Four hundred seven thousand of them died in service, more than 292,000 in battle. Realizing that peace was equally preserved by veterans of WW II and Korea, Congress was requested to make this day an occasion to honor those who have served America in all wars, not just World War I.
The day became Veterans Day in 1954 when President Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.
A law passed in 1968 changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. However, it soon became apparent that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans, and should be reinstated as the day to observe Veterans Day. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
Even though Veterans Day is about the military living, wounded, or not, we, as a country, continue to include those who have fallen, never to breath again, in the name of doing their duty when called upon by the government of the United States. Therefore, the main focus for official, national ceremonies continues to be the memorial amphitheater built around the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Traditionally, at 11 a.m. on 11/11, a combined color guard representing all military services executes “Present Arms” at the tomb. The nation’s tribute to its war dead is symbolized by the laying of a presidential wreath and the bugler plays “taps”. A somber, national reminder. There are also numerous other local ceremonies and memorials that take place throughout the United States, in big, medium sized, and small communities.
Many of the living are proud to have served and wear the reminders of their physical losses as badges of honor, while others try, desperately, to cope with the everyday aftermath of being a soldier, doing the work of government leaders who found it necessary to place them in harm’s way. Many of these wounded Veterans and still others who have served without loss, hope, upon hope, that the future will bring no need to send young men and women to war, ever again.
Will the future bring a time when there will be no need for war, ever? Based on history and human nature, it is doubtful. But one thing is certain: We, the citizens of the United States of America, and people around the world whom the U.S. military often come to the aid of, do highly appreciate the men and women who bravely, fight the fight.
PHOTO INFORMATION: The picture of military-inspired statues, representing various branches of the United States Armed Forces, was taken at The Wisconsin Korean War Veterans Memorial, located in the Village of Plover, Portage County, WI. Just off the intersections of I-39/STH 51 and County Road B in the central part of the state.
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