Armistice Day

It is now 11AM local time. The guns of the Great War finally fell silent at 11AM, Paris time, on November 11th, 1918. For the first time in over four years, a man could stand up in the trenches in France and not have his head shot off.

This time on this day was first set aside to commemorate those who died in the Great War.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Nearly a quarter of all Americans at the time were considered to be of draft age, all men from age 18 through age 45. If the war had continued into 1919, at least a fifth of those would have been sent to France. Of the millions of American men who were drafted or volunteered, one is left.

What began as Armistice Day in 1919 was, after the Korean War, expanded to commemorate the service of all veterans. In many nations of the British Commonwealth, all radio and television programming stops for five minutes at 11AM to commemorate the fallen.



Here in this country, if it wasn't for the "Veterans Day Sales" and the closing of Federal and state offices, I imagine most people would give as much thought to Veterans Day as they do to Arbor Day.