November 11 - Veterans Day

In Flanders Field, the poppies blow...

On Veterans Day we salute those who have served -- in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. 

The poppy became a symbol of World War I dead and Armistice Day because of In Flanders Fields, the great poem by the Canadian John McCrae who was a battlefield physician in Belgium in 1915.

The day was originally called Armistice Day, because it marked the ending of hostilities in Europe, on November 11, 1918. 

In the British Commonwealth, the day became known as Remembrance Day. In the United States, it is the day set aside for honoring of veterans.

Our honoring of Veterans Day in November suffers by comparison with Memorial Day, which has a similar purpose and is more widely observed as a holiday because it starts the U.S. summer season. Memorial Day also dates back further, to 1866 when a memorial was first held in Waterloo, NY to honor dead Union soldiers.

Our honoring of November 11 as the end of the "Great War" is also not as poignant as it is in Europe, where an entire generation of young men was cut down by machine guns in the tragedy of World War I trench warfare started by an assassination and then moving ahead inexorably as treaty after treaty came into effect and no one was able to halt the death march.

The memory of so many young men having been killed senselessly is evoked by The Green Fields of France, a poignant song about the fallen soldier Willy McBride. Some 250,000 Americans died in Europe in World War I, but as was the case in World War II the impact on the United States was much less devastating than on Europe, where losses were much greater over a longer period, out of smaller populations. My friend Tim Sullivan sent me the inspiring story of Alan Seeger, a Yank who volunteered to join the French and British forces after the Kaiser invaded Belgium and France in 1914. But Seeger was a rarity. The United States didn't join in the war until 1917 and it was soon over.

Ironically, America's longest war, although not the deadliest, is the one that we are still in, what is called the Gulf War, parts I and II, with Part II beginning on September 11, 2001. The longest war in our history, but the smallest percentage of our population is involved in fighting the war. 

So - let us pay proper tribute to the day by saluting all those who have fought for their country - and the families of those who have had to cope with their warrior not returning, or returning with injuries - and all other innocent victims of wars.

May 18 - Honoring the Armed Forces

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Armed Forces Day is tomorrow, May 18. It is always on the third Saturday in May, just before Memorial Day, and is preceded by a week of activities. It is one of three days on which the United States honor those who have served their country in the armed forces.

It was first observed on May 20, 1950 with parades, receptions and air displays. President Harry S. Truman was determined to combine several separate holidays for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps,  Air Force and Coast Guard to establish a single holiday for citizens to thank their active-duty military and veterans for their service. On August 31, 1949, then Defense Secretary Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace the separate armed forces days (which are still celebrated by the separate services).

The single-day celebration reflects the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy established Armed Forces Day as an official holiday, but since it falls on a Saturday it does not affect most offices. 

The longest city-sponsored Armed Forces Day Parade is held by Bremerton, WA, which celebrated the 64th parade in 2012. National Guard and Reserve units may celebrate Armed Forces Day/Week over any period in the month of May.

The differences among the three holidays celebrating the armed forces are largely in their origins:

• Armed Forces Day originated from the services' celebrations.
• Memorial Day dates back at least to 1866, when a memorial was first held in Waterloo, NY to honor dead Union soldiers.
• Veterans Day, November 11, was originally Armistice Day, celebrating the end of World War I.  It has special significance in Europe, where a whole generation of young men died in the trenches from a war that is increasingly described by historians as a diplomatic "sleepwalk" into conflict as various treaties came into effect broadening the scope of involvement. Approximately 250,000 Americans died in the war, a few volunteering before Wilson declared war on Germany in 1917.