We call it Veterans Day now, but it used to be called Armistice Day, and I can’t help wondering whether we’ve lost something by converting a holiday originally meant to celebrate the veterans of World War I into an omnibus holiday, to honor all veterans of all wars.
When I was a kid, we celebrated Armistice Day at my elementary school, P.S. 35 in the Bronx. And it was a very special holiday. Ms. Barr, our principal, came from a family that knew General John “Blackjack” Pershing very well. That general was her hero and she wanted us to embrace his achievement.
Pershing was the man who led the AEF [the American Expeditionary Force] in World War I. When he arrived with his troops in France, it was reported that Pershing said, to honor Lafayette, the French officer who served under George Washingon: “Lafayette, nous sommes ici! [Lafayette, "We are here!"]
Actually, it wasn’t Pershing who said it but one of his officers. Pershing later called it a “splendid” phrase and added he was happy to be associated with it.
Ms. Barr made World War I a school project. We learned all about the war and were taught some songs America sang or marched to in that era. There was “Over there…over there, send the word, send the word, over there: That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming and we won’t come back till it’s over, over there.”
That was a lusty, patriotic, marching song. But then there were sentimental ballads too, like: “There’s a rose that grows in No Man’s Land and it’s wonderful to see... 'Mid the war’s great curse, Stands the Red Cross nurse. She’s the rose of No Man’s Land.”
We learned to sing, too: “Keep the home fires burning, while your hearts are yearning….”
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I feel sentimental about those songs and the era they celebrated, even though I wasn’t there. I am a veteran of World War II. Those of us who fought in that war have warm memories of comrades with whom we served and those who have passed on. And the veterans of Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan recall their battles too with reverence for the men and women with whom they served.
On November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m., the eleventh hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, hostilities ceased in World War I. It was supposed to be “the war to end all wars.” It definitely wasn’t. Our idealistic president, Woodrow Wilson, ultimately was crushed by the realization that his mission was failing.
It was a great soldier of World War II, President Eisenhower, who tried to establish Veterans Day as a holiday to include veterans of all wars. He met a lot of opposition. Ultimately, we were left with what we have today, a screwy compromise -- a holiday placed on the anniversary of Armistice Day that we call Veterans Day.
Our veterans deserve to be honored. But, somehow, it seems unfair to take away from those who fought in World War I and their descendants a holiday that belongs to them. We have Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. We can honor veterans of all wars on those days and we can do it on November 11th too. But let’s not forget the original meaning of Armistice Day. Let’s not forget history.
When he proclaimed the first Armistice Day in November, 1919, President Wilson called for there to be “solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory…”
Let’s not tinker with a national holiday that goes back to Wilson’s time. We need our history and so do our kids.
