On this date, 106 years ago at the 11 th hour of the 11 th day of the 11 th month, the Allies signed a ceasefire agreement with the Germans at Compiégne, France. This date, at the time, was regarded as the end of World War I or “the war to end all wars.” However, this was only a ceasefire and World War I would not officially end until June 29, 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed just outside of Versailles, France at the Château de Versailles. One year after the ceasefire was signed, President Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day as Veteran’s Day was then known. Since then, we have commemorated this day every year. The sacrifices that countless veterans have made since World War I have not gone unnoticed, and we give tribute to all veterans whether deceased or alive because without them we would not have the freedoms we enjoy today. This is vastly different from Memorial Day which is a day set aside to honor those who gave the highest sacrifice, their lives to save our freedom.
Our history is replete with men answering the call to duty from Jamestown up to today and it is woven into the fabric of America. It is what makes us the greatest nation on earth, and it is a spirit of not only individualism but of pragmatism, honor, and duty. It is really the fabric of America and something that most people in the world cannot understand until they actually experience it.
In Jamestown, a group of British men initially come as part of the Virginia Company to make money and find the northwest passage among other things. They were to be run by those back in London and their sole responsibility was to work for the Virginia Company but soon the hardships of living in the New World would appear; from dealing with local Native tribes to starvation and near annihilation from disease and tribal attacks they endured hardship, death, starvation, and mismanagement until finally they realized the system they were living under in this new world was unworkable and needed to be changed.
Through that hardship, the first representative assembly now known as the House of Burgess was formed. While this is not a military issue, it is here that the roots of liberty unknowingly begin to take place. Those roots of liberty would grow into the American Spirit which appears in 1775 resulting in thousands of men willing to sacrifice their lives for their fellow citizens so that all could live unencumbered by a monarchial government.
And since then, our fellow citizens have answered the call of duty to serve and protect this nation and its values repeatedly. We honor all of those who came before us and gallantly served starting with the American Revolution, through the War of 1812, the Texas Revolution, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and until now with the Afghanistan and Iraq War. Never before in the history of the world have so many people been freed from the constraints of tyrants and allowed to enjoy the fruits of liberty should they choose to. It is veterans, who we can thank, that accepted the call to arms to preserve, protect and defend liberty and freedom.
To all veterans we thank you, but especially our American Veterans both living and dead whom without you and your courage, we would not exist as a country. You are an inspiration to us all.
