I get an email every weekday from "Bell Bennett's American Almanac." If you want to have a snippet of American history in your inbox each day, this is an awesome find.
Today he wrote, of course, about Veteran's Day. You can read this wonderful bit of history here.
In part he wrote
"In the early morning hours of November 11, 1918, representatives of France, Britain, and Germany met in a railroad car near Compiègne, France, to sign an armistice ending World War I, or the Great War, as it was known at that time. The cease-fire took effect at 11:00 a.m. that day—the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Up and down the trenches, after four long years of the most horrific fighting the world had yet known, the guns fell silent. “The roar stopped like a motor car hitting a wall,” one U.S. soldier wrote to his family. Soldiers on both sides slowly climbed out of the earthworks. Some danced; some cheered; some cried for joy; some stood numbed. The Great War had left some 9 million soldiers dead and another 21 million wounded. No one knows how many millions of civilians died. Much of Europe lay in ruins. But finally, with the armistice, it was “all quiet on the Western Front.”"
As a child and into my 20's I recall Vets selling little red paper poppies on November 11 to raise money and awareness of the needs of veterans all over the world. I see that in England and parts of Europe they still use that sweet little symbol of the "Great War" to honor those who have stepped up and gave their all to fight against tyrants and dictators, evil and hate.
Researching my family, I found my grandfather's WWI draft registration card. My father served in WWII, as did all my uncles, my father-in-law, and my husband's uncles. My father went on to serve in the military reserves for decades. My brother served during the Viet Nam era; my nephew now serves in uniform as does my cousin's son. Because of my career path, I have worked with men and women who served in every conflict that has occurred during my lifetime and then some. Many in harm's way.
Without fail, they all say they just did what they had to do. They do not feel they are heroes, or anything more than you or I. The Vets I know felt a need to "give back," or to do something to help combat evil wherever it was. To do their small part.
(I also know some who long to be able to serve in such capacities, but for health or other reasons have not been able to do so. I have seen their disappointment and even heartache. I cannot help but also be grateful to them for their desire.)
I so hope one day we may all catch that vision; that we may all come to a realization that to keep the freedoms we have, to keep the world safe from tyranny and all other forms of hate and oppression, we must stand against it, whether it be in uniform, or in our daily lives.
May God bless all those who have served, who now serve, and God bless the families who support them.
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