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Bangor
Daily News
Veterans Day
2012
The recent war in Iraq and continuing war in Afghanistan give Veterans
Day special urgency. The nation is encountering new types of warfare
and its consequences, which include several deaths of soldiers from
Maine this year. Today we recall with new respect the veterans of wars
past and present.
Congress voted for Armistice Day as a legal holiday in 1938, 20 years
after the first armistice ended the carnage of World War I on Nov. 11,
1918. Although the first world war was originally called the “war to
end all wars,” by the late 1930s few believed that hope could still be
kept alive. Storm clouds were building in Europe, and on Sept. 1, 1939,
World War II began when Hitler’s troops invaded Poland.
In 1953, the people of Emporia, Kan., began calling the holiday
Veterans Day as a tribute to the veterans of their town. Soon after,
Congress passed a bill introduced by a Kansas congressman renaming the
national holiday Veterans Day. The name will remain as long as there
are caring people to remember its significance every Nov. 11.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is set aside each year
in solemn remembrance of the first Armistice Day, when the world
rejoiced and celebrated after four years of unspeakable horror, and to
remember the sacrifices men and women made in order to ensure a peace
that would last for many years.
Over the years, the way Americans celebrated Veterans Day shifted from
solely honoring the dead to honoring veterans of all wars. Especially
after the nation’s long involvement in the Vietnam War, the holiday’s
emphasis was broadened to include not only parades and patriotic
orations in village squares but also gatherings at major landmarks such
as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, where people walk
silently along the wall, placing gifts and standing in quiet vigil.
Often their hands fall over the names of those who made the supreme
sacrifice in an unpopular war never officially declared by Congress.
Support groups organized by veterans of military service, including the
American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, work tirelessly each
November to raise money for their charitable activities by selling
paper poppies crafted by disabled veterans. Although a more frequent
sight in past years than today, the imitation bright red wildflower is
still seen tucked into lapels as a symbol of World War I and its
countless bloody battles…
Read the rest of the article at Bangor Daily News
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