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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Honoring America’s veterans
From staff reports
Baytown Sun Published November 11, 2009 Would that mankind could peaceably exist, there would be no need for war. Would that we could eliminate our greed, our need for power and control, our insatiable desire to rule over others, we would have no need for a military. And would that we could learn to live in harmony with others and not subjugate those who we find lesser, those in the military would not need to become veterans.
However, we do not live peaceably among each other. There are always a few driven to conquer, to cause pain to others in the quest for supremacy. And it befalls the rest of us to stand up to these tyrants and their legions to protect that which we hold most dear: the right to live as we choose.
And thus we honor our veterans today.
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”
In America, Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." On June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
The date marks a bittersweet celebration in our country; while we honor those who have given their blood and sweat to the safety and security of our nation and its ideals, we must also pay tribute to those who did not come home from the battlefield. Throughout our country’s history, we have repelled assaults from within and from without our own borders. From those first shots at Lexington and Concord, to red-stained Gettysburg, to the hedgerows of Normandy and beyond, our fighting men and women have paid the greatest toll possible so that we might be free to celebrate their divine purchase.
Should you see a veteran today, stop to say “thank you.” Let them know that their service is not forgotten.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 8:13
Baytown Sun Published November 11, 2009 Would that mankind could peaceably exist, there would be no need for war. Would that we could eliminate our greed, our need for power and control, our insatiable desire to rule over others, we would have no need for a military. And would that we could learn to live in harmony with others and not subjugate those who we find lesser, those in the military would not need to become veterans.
However, we do not live peaceably among each other. There are always a few driven to conquer, to cause pain to others in the quest for supremacy. And it befalls the rest of us to stand up to these tyrants and their legions to protect that which we hold most dear: the right to live as we choose.
And thus we honor our veterans today.
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”
In America, Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." On June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
The date marks a bittersweet celebration in our country; while we honor those who have given their blood and sweat to the safety and security of our nation and its ideals, we must also pay tribute to those who did not come home from the battlefield. Throughout our country’s history, we have repelled assaults from within and from without our own borders. From those first shots at Lexington and Concord, to red-stained Gettysburg, to the hedgerows of Normandy and beyond, our fighting men and women have paid the greatest toll possible so that we might be free to celebrate their divine purchase.
Should you see a veteran today, stop to say “thank you.” Let them know that their service is not forgotten.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 8:13