|
Veteran's Day In the early morning hours of November 11, 1918, representatives of France, Britian and Germany met in a railroad car near Compiegne, France, to sign an armistice ending World War 1, or the Great War as it was known at the time. The cease-fire took effect at 11:00 am 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" For many years, November 11 was known as Armistice Day to honor those who fought in World War 1. In 1954 Congress changed the name to Veterans Day to recognize all American veterans. Every November 11 at 11:00 am, the nation pays tribute to its war dead with the laying of a presidential wreath at the Tomb of the Unknow Soldier in Arlington National Cemetary outside of Washington D.C. But Veterans Day honors more than the dead. Memorial Day, observed in May, is for remembering soldiers who lost their lives in the service to their country. Veterans Day is set aside to honor and thank all who have served in the U. S. armed forces-particularly our 23 million living veterans. |
.png){kind=logo}
.png)
