Today is Veterans Day, our annual recognition of the debt owed to those who have served in the armed forces. And it is indeed a debt. Some may see thanking veterans as cliché or even think of Veterans Day as just another day off from work. Many folks confuse Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Some don’t know the meaning of either.
Part of that attitude comes from geography. The United States is blessed by natural barriers to armed attack. The mainland United States hasn’t seen major armed conflict since the 19th Century. Even the most destructive war in history, World War II, only briefly touched American soil. Since World War II, regional wars involving US forces were often out of sight and out of mind.
Yet the US military has always shown up. One could argue, with some merit, that the US hasn’t emerged victorious in any war since 1945, save the 1991 Gulf War. But I challenge anyone to say the military itself was defeated by its opponents. Politics ultimately decides wars. Even when armies are ground to dust, as in 1945, politicians made those decisions.
That armed prowess, and the threat it represents to would-be aggressors, is literally invaluable. US military strength has no doubt prevented wars that would otherwise have been fought. That strength would not be possible without the people behind the rifles, in the cockpits, sailing the ships, maintaining the equipment, and moving the supplies.
As Winston Churchill said, “We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.”
Why November 11?
What we now call Veterans Day began as Armistice Day. Active combat in World War I ended with the Armistice that took effect at 11 AM on November 11, 1918. The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
World War I, then called “The Great War,” was history’s most devastating war to that point. It has still only been surpassed by World War II. The fighting was so bitter that massive artillery barrages continued until the last second ticked off. Why there wasn’t an immediate cease fire when the Armistice was agreed to is baffling to most. In truth, each side wanted to show strength to the very end to bolster their negotiating positions. Never mind the human cost. Understanding that doesn’t make it less baffling. But humanity is a scarce commodity in total war. Or any war.
The soldiers who witnessed the guns going silent attested to what famed Great War poet Wilfred Owen described as “the monstrous anger of the guns” falling away so that they could hear a watch ticking. No audio record of that moment exists. But the Allies recreated it afterward using a technique called “sound ranging.”
More recently, a London acoustics firm called Coda to Coda did the same. You can find that recording at
https://codatocoda.bandcamp.com/album/iwm-ww1-armistice-interpretation-sound-installation
Knowing the context makes it powerful.
Armistice Day
One year later, President Woodrow Wilson ordered a day of remembrance, known as Armistice Day. Parades and public activities were planned, as well as a brief pause for reflection at 11 AM. Many other countries did likewise. Canada, Australia, and Great Britain still commemorate Remembrance Day on or around November 11.
The remains of the Unknown Soldier were laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery two years later, on November 11. The British and French had done the same in 1920, at Westminster Abbey and the Arc de Triomphe, respectively.
Congress passed a resolution in 1926 declaring that the “recurring anniversary of [November 11] should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.” They also called on the President to annually proclaim the observance of Armistice Day.
By that time, 27 states observed Armistice Day as a state holiday. Congress enacted the Federal Armistice Day holiday in 1938, “dedicated to the cause of world peace.”
Armistice Day to Veterans Day
By 1938, however, world peace was in dire peril. Imperial Japan had invaded China the previous year. Nazi Germany was set to annex Austria and occupy the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Adolf Hitler had remilitarized the Rhineland two years earlier. Benito Mussolini’s Italy had invaded Ethiopia in 1935 and was looking covetously on more territory.
World War I had been billed as “The War to End All Wars.” By the mid-1950s, it was clear that such claims were fantasies. In fact, the wars of the 20th century can almost all be traced to World War I and its aftermath. The years 1914 to 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles officially ended the Great War, mark the violent death of the old world and the turbulent birth of the new.
By 1954, the experiences of World War II and Korea had made “Armistice Day” outdated. Congress, prompted by veterans’ organizations, amended the Act of 1938 to change the name to Veterans Day in honor of all military veterans who served in war or peacetime. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the act into law and the first Veterans Day was observed that November.
Date Controversy
The 1968 Uniform Holiday Monday Act sought to boost economic activity for the travel industry by ensuring three-day weekends for Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day. Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October beginning in 1971.
The date was confusing, and the Armistice Day tradition was still strong. Many states ignored the law and continued to observe the holiday on November 11. Congress and President Gerald Ford moved Veterans Day back to the traditional date in 1975, where it remains to this day.
The significance of November 11 was and is powerful. Far more powerful than the trivial reason for moving it to a Monday. It is also appropriate. November 11 marks the end of the fighting in World War I, but also symbolizes the desire for peace that only those who have seen war can fully appreciate.
Veterans Day in Perspective
Veterans Day’s significance, unfortunately, can be easy to overlook. To many, it’s merely a day off. To others, it might even be inconvenient since banks and post offices are closed. Sure, there are still well-attended Veterans Day parades and observances all over the country, but our society has become distracted.
Even though the United States recently emerged from its longest war, it was all so far away. Men and women dying was often lost in the noise. The early days after September 11, 2001, faded into routine. Afghanistan and Iraq became political issues to be argued over or ignored, except for service members, their families, and their friends.
Yet those men and women fought, bled, and died just like their forefathers in Europe, the Pacific, Korea, Vietnam, and countless other places. The Veterans Day tradition is as important as ever. It’s a small thing, in light of what those veterans have done, and what they sacrificed, whether they saw combat or not. A small thing, but an important thing.
Consider taking a moment today, perhaps at 11 AM, to reflect on those sacrifices and what they mean. How they purchased with blood everything we now enjoy. From the Lexington Militia in 1775 to the Marines killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal, they never sought anything but to serve. We should acknowledge that.
Abraham Lincoln’s words at Gettysburg may be appropriately applied to all our veterans, regardless of when or where they served:
“The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated [this ground], far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
Raise a glass to our veterans today.
