It doesn’t matter if you call it Veterans Day, Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day, it all started the same place. At 11:11 on November 11th, 1918, the Germans signed documents agreeing to end the so-called “Great War” with the Allied Powers. So traumatizing was the First World War that the very next year we began to commemorate its ending, but at the time we honored only the dead from that conflict.
It wasn’t until the 1950s that we began to remember all Veterans, regardless of conflict, or period of service. The US Congress made Veterans Day an official National holiday in 1954.
Today, we join our brothers and sisters in freedom loving nations around the world in honoring those who serve. There’s a saying that is most often associated with the Viet Nam conflict but I think it applies to all Veterans, “All gave some, Some gave all.”
Today, some of us will participate in parades or other events, but I think we all could take a cue from our Commonwealth partners and offer a moment of silence for our Fallen.
SSD salutes our fellow Veterans, especially my two children who serve our nation in the Army National Guard and US Navy. Thank you for your service.
