Armistice Day

Eleven AM on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year nineteen eighteen, when the guns fell silent along the Western Front. The Great War, the World War, the War to End All Wars. 24 million American men were registered for the draft during the four registration dates of June 15, 1917 (men 21-31), June 5, 1918, (men who turned 21 after 6/15/17), August 24, 1918 (those who turned 21 6/5/18)and September 12, 1918 (age 18 through 45). 24 million men out of an overall population of 103 million.

In April of 1917, when the US declared war on Germany, the Army had 127,000 soldiers, the National Guard had another 80,000. In November of 1918, two million soldiers were part of the American Expeditionary Force. By the end of the war, 2.8 million men had been drafted, which was then half of the Army. If the war had gone on, close to five million men would have been sent to France by the summer of 1919.

Armistice Day was proclaimed by President Wilson in 1919. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 to ask that all presidents proclaim November 11th as Armistice Day, a day to thank those who served and to work for peaceful relations between nations. Armistice Day became a legal Federal holiday in 1938. The name was changed to Veterans Day in 1954. In 1971, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October along with three other holidays that were moved to Mondays (Washington's Birthday [now Presidents Day], Memorial Day and Columbus Day). Veterans Day was moved back to November 11th in 1978.

Veterans Day is not a day for economic activity. Those merchants who boldly proclaim "Veterans Day Sales" are profaning this Day. Whether you are off work today or are working, take a moment of time, not to thank those who serve, but to reflect on the sacrifice this country has asked and, at times, demanded of its young men and women.

Think of the human costs incurred when we send people to war. Think of what it costs this country. We should not so lightly and glibly send our young men and women into war, as we have done at least twice in the last fifty years.

It is indeed proper that we honor our veterans. We should try to make certain that we only make new war veterans when it is absolutely necessary.