Sunday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day a holiday established to honor all veterans, alive or deceased.
It was originally called Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I. At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 the armistice was signed with Germany bringing peace to the world after more than four years of bloody fighting.
The name of the holiday continued to be called Armistice Day until 1954, when several years after the end of World War II and the Korean War, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill to change the name to Veterans Day to honor all veterans who have served in the United States military.
Originally the day was celebrated on Nov. 11 of each year, but was later changed to the fourth Monday in October. However, in 1978, the legal federal holiday was returned to Nov. 11, and has been on that date since. If Nov. 11 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, organizations that observe the holiday can close on the Friday before or Monday after.
In case you didn’t notice, this Veterans Day marks the 100th anniversary of the World War I Armistice. That war was called “the war to end all wars,” but unfortunately history chronicles the fact that the statement was only wishful thinking.
Bob DeGroot, a naval veteran of World War II, gave me a poem he found recently while sorting through his old military memorabilia. It was written by a fellow seaman, name unknown, who also served in the South Pacific during the war. Although it is somewhat lengthy, I am including portions of it to show our readers the thoughts of those who fought in that theater of combat.
“Have you ever sat through a picture show
While rain seeped into your trousers, Joe?
Have you ever labored in mildewed clothes
Or stepped on a lizard with naked toes?
To be a little more specific,
Have you ever been in the South Pacific?
Have you ever wakened in a chilling fright
To the awesome sounds of a tropic night?
Has your skin ever turned to a yellow green
From the daily doses of atabrine (a drug to treat malaria)?
Has sweat ever dripped on your writing pad
While you penned a letter to your mom and dad?
Have you ever stood on a jungle ridge
And yearned for the sight of the Brooklyn Bridge?
Have you ever sloshed through the tropic rains
And dreamed of the sweep of the Texas Plains?
Would you trade any of these fancied thrills
For a Sunday hike in the Berkshire hills?
Or a berry patch in the Carolinas
Or a hunter’s shack in the Northern pines?
Then to be a little more specific
You belong out here in the South Pacific.”
On Sunday, remember all those veterans who have served and continue to serve in the armed forces to preserve the freedoms Americans have enjoyed for nearly two and a half centuries.