[rollei_list] Veterans' Day/Armistice Day/Remembrance Day
- From: Marc James Small <marcsmall@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:52:24 -0500
The Armistice which ended the First World War
went into effect at 11:00 AM on 11 NOV 1918, Zone
Time. As a result, 11 NOV has become a holiday
in the Allied and Associated Nations. The French
celebrate it. The Belgians celebrate it. The
British and the nations which constitute their
shards of Empire celebrate it. And the USians celebrate it.
It is a day dedicated to different things in
different lands. In the US, it is a day to honor
the contributions of all US veterans -- we
celebrate our war dead and wounded in May, on
Memorial Day. In other nations, it is a day more
focused on those killed or wounded in the service of their nations.
I am a veteran of military service, having been
involved in the US forces in some form directly
from 1968 until 1994, when I was retired from our
Army Reserve about the time this List got revved
up, back in 1994. I am currently the Provost
Marshal of the Virginia Defense Force, an unarmed
adjunct to the Virginia National Guard -- we are
the halt and the lame! But an ancestor was the
Adjutant of the Virginia Regiment during the
Seven Years' War, and the Virginia Regiment is
the direct predecessor of the Virginia Defense
Force, so I seem to belong. Hell, I don't get
paid, so I told 'em I'd do it as long as it was fun.
The British Empire used to have a pause of two
minutes at 11 AM on 11 NOV in memory of those who
sacrificed in the Great War. This fell into
abeyance for some decades but there have been
recent efforts, I understand, to revive it.
In any event, I hope that all will honor this day
for what it means, a memorial to those who spent
so much of themselves in wars. I am not
suggesting that wars are logical or that war is a
desirable part of life but, as has been noted,
(Aescylus, perhaps? Daniel probably can pin the
citation down.), "only the dead have seen the end of war".
Be in peace!
Marc
msmall@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Cha robh bàs fir gun ghràs fir!
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