Posted on 11/11/2017 9:04:20 AM PST by Jack Black
Today is November 11, Armistice Day.
It is the 99th anniversary of the Armistice, which ended the fighting in World War 1. On “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”—a ceasefire came into effect, ending the war.
Over 70 million men, 60 million of them Europeans, were mobilized and fought as soldiers in the war. Over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a result of the war.
At some point our politicians decided that Armistice Day would become Veterans Day in the USA. While it is excellent that we have a special day for Veterans, it is unfortunate that it was erected upon the memory of the end of WW1, a date held sacred by our ancestors.
Somehow lost in the re-branding and all the “thank you for your services” is the still urgent need to remember that the most significant part of most wars is their end, when men are no longer used as cannon fodder.
99 years is a long time, and WW2 clouds our ability to see past it, to WW1 and understand what a huge effect it had on world.
And to contemplate why “The War to End All Wars” did not.
(Excerpt) Read more at cascadefreezone.com ...
In the US , it was in 1954 that armistice day became Veteran’s Day.
Interesting question, as to whether we have lost something, in changing it to Veterans Day. November 11th no longer specifically signifies the commemoration of the end of the first World War. Anyone else have thoughts on this?
Hmm. If WW1 was truly the war to end all wars....then Armistice Day would be appropriate.
If we were embroiled in endless wars and instead wanted to remember the Veterans that served in those wars...
Maybe they should change Memorial Day to 11/11 and veterans day to 5/30
WWI was a hellish futile worthless war. It wasn't so bad on us Americans compared to Europe. It wasted the best European manhood. What remained of European manhood after that war, was finished off in WWII. The depletion of their gene pool after those two wars left only the beta males as breeders. Those two wars have turned Europe into a continent of sitzpinklers.
Maybe. But then, why especially commemorate the start or end of any war? If we did it for every war there’d be even more days of less commerce and action as excuses for vacation than there already are. Better that it is generalized.
Though I think much more attention should be paid to WWI. I saved a great article from American Heritage magazine way back about WWI and the massive negative impact it had on society. Have to find it again
Happy Days are Here Again--Leo Reisman & His Orchestra (1929)
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