Bradleys Believe It or Not: How Veterans Day came about: Many people dont know that Veterans Day was founded because this is the day in 1918 that World War One ended. Its been 95 years since the guns stopped firing on the morning that ended World War I, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Germany, having exhausted manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiègne, France. The following year, Armistice Day was declared a national day of mourning by then-President WOODROW WILSON. In Europe, Nov 11 is still remembered as Armistice Day. Here in the United States, we changed the name to Veterans Day back in 1954. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. If they only knew then. The renaming of the day is symbolic given how differently the day is commemorated on each side of the Atlantic. Here, we celebrate survivors of all the nations 20th and 21st century wars --all veterans of all wars and their families. In France and Britain, the mood is altogether more somber. There, it is the dead who have been the focus of the ceremonies. Because weve never had to defend our own soil, and because that First World War saw losses of perhaps three million men in France, England and Germany, its probably safe to say the psychological impact of that war has never left Europe and it might explain the pacifism or at least the aversion to war that exists on that continent.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:40:13 +0000
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