Veterans Day 2023
By Trey Van Dyke
November 10, 2023
The more that one digs into the meaning of Veterans Day, the more that a personal experience or anecdote aids understanding better than facts and figures. We take both approaches below to try to understand what Veterans Day truly means.
As many of our readers know, Veterans Day began as Armistice Day. Armistice Day was a celebration, not of an official end to the “War to End All Wars” as it was coined at the time, but a celebration of one moment of peace that lasted. World War I began on June 28, 1914, with the infamous assassination the Heir Presumptive Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Francis Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, the state-sponsor of the Young Bosnia socialist radical group carrying out the assassination. Russia backed Serbia and Germany backed Austria-Hungary. Ottoman Turkey, Bulgaria, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, and several other nations became belligerents. The entangling alliances European powers had throughout the world turned this single event into the first truly global war. German submarine attacks on merchant ships, American financing of the British and French sides of the war, and a German telegraph to persuade a Mexican attack on the US, led to America’s declaration of war on Germany in 1917. The entangling alliances President George Washington warned against in his 1796 farewell address, brought much of the world into industrialized conflict.
Around 40 million military and civilian casualties (dead and wounded) have been attributed to World War I. For perspective, that is more than the entire population of California. Never had humanity seen such industrialized suffering at scale. As American troops were sent to defend the Third French Republic and the UK from the aggression of the Central Powers, the casualties became exponential by the summer of 1918. After the final Allied offensive in September 1918, the Central Powers were at the negotiation table. Bulgaria, then Austria-Hungary, and finally Germany would sign the last armistice. An armistice is a cease-fire, not a formal end to hostilities. This cease-fire would take effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, on the eleventh month of 1918. The cease-fire would hold until a formal peace treaty was ceremoniously signed in the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919: five years to the day of that infamous assassination. The last moment of hostilities, rather than the day the war started and ended was chosen to be the day of remembrance for the “War to End All Wars.”
In 1926, Congress recognized November 11 as the date to recognize the end of the “Great War,” saying in a concurrent resolution that “it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.” An Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor Veterans of World War I. After another World War had set a new record for the largest mobilization of American troops, and after American forces fought back Communist aggression in Korea, veterans’ groups petitioned to exchange “Armistice” for “Veterans” to recognize the enduring sacrifices made by American troops over decades of war. In 1954, President Eisenhower issued the Veterans Day Proclamation “in order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all Veterans, all Veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.”
Military service is an integral part of American history and is intertwined in many Americans’ own family histories over the decades. Our generation’s call to service was witnessing the terrorist attacks on innocent Americans going about their days in New York and D.C. on 9/11/2001. Many Americans answered that call to service and today we have in total about 16.2 million veterans across the US. Every service member gives their oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, and by doing so they declare that they are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice in its defense.
While the history of Veterans Day and World War I are interesting, Veterans Day is best understood to honor the highest attribute of every veteran: a willingness to sacrifice. Some veterans truly sacrificed everything, and we honor them on Memorial Day in May. Many veterans sacrificed their body or mind and returned with physical and mental scars that they will struggle with for the rest of their lives. No matter the sacrifice, every veteran once raised their hand with a humble commitment to push back against the greatest evils and to defend our country and its ideals. If you feel inclined to thank a veteran for their service this holiday weekend, you might also ask them what that commitment meant to them. It’s within those stories that we can truly understand the meaning of Veterans Day.
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By Trey Van Dyke
November 10, 2023
The more that one digs into the meaning of Veterans Day, the more that a personal experience or anecdote aids understanding better than facts and figures. We take both approaches below to try to understand what Veterans Day truly means.
As many of our readers know, Veterans Day began as Armistice Day. Armistice Day was a celebration, not of an official end to the “War to End All Wars” as it was coined at the time, but a celebration of one moment of peace that lasted. World War I began on June 28, 1914, with the infamous assassination the Heir Presumptive Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Francis Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, the state-sponsor of the Young Bosnia socialist radical group carrying out the assassination. Russia backed Serbia and Germany backed Austria-Hungary. Ottoman Turkey, Bulgaria, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, and several other nations became belligerents. The entangling alliances European powers had throughout the world turned this single event into the first truly global war. German submarine attacks on merchant ships, American financing of the British and French sides of the war, and a German telegraph to persuade a Mexican attack on the US, led to America’s declaration of war on Germany in 1917. The entangling alliances President George Washington warned against in his 1796 farewell address, brought much of the world into industrialized conflict.
Around 40 million military and civilian casualties (dead and wounded) have been attributed to World War I. For perspective, that is more than the entire population of California. Never had humanity seen such industrialized suffering at scale. As American troops were sent to defend the Third French Republic and the UK from the aggression of the Central Powers, the casualties became exponential by the summer of 1918. After the final Allied offensive in September 1918, the Central Powers were at the negotiation table. Bulgaria, then Austria-Hungary, and finally Germany would sign the last armistice. An armistice is a cease-fire, not a formal end to hostilities. This cease-fire would take effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, on the eleventh month of 1918. The cease-fire would hold until a formal peace treaty was ceremoniously signed in the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919: five years to the day of that infamous assassination. The last moment of hostilities, rather than the day the war started and ended was chosen to be the day of remembrance for the “War to End All Wars.”
In 1926, Congress recognized November 11 as the date to recognize the end of the “Great War,” saying in a concurrent resolution that “it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.” An Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor Veterans of World War I. After another World War had set a new record for the largest mobilization of American troops, and after American forces fought back Communist aggression in Korea, veterans’ groups petitioned to exchange “Armistice” for “Veterans” to recognize the enduring sacrifices made by American troops over decades of war. In 1954, President Eisenhower issued the Veterans Day Proclamation “in order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all Veterans, all Veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.”
Military service is an integral part of American history and is intertwined in many Americans’ own family histories over the decades. Our generation’s call to service was witnessing the terrorist attacks on innocent Americans going about their days in New York and D.C. on 9/11/2001. Many Americans answered that call to service and today we have in total about 16.2 million veterans across the US. Every service member gives their oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, and by doing so they declare that they are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice in its defense.
While the history of Veterans Day and World War I are interesting, Veterans Day is best understood to honor the highest attribute of every veteran: a willingness to sacrifice. Some veterans truly sacrificed everything, and we honor them on Memorial Day in May. Many veterans sacrificed their body or mind and returned with physical and mental scars that they will struggle with for the rest of their lives. No matter the sacrifice, every veteran once raised their hand with a humble commitment to push back against the greatest evils and to defend our country and its ideals. If you feel inclined to thank a veteran for their service this holiday weekend, you might also ask them what that commitment meant to them. It’s within those stories that we can truly understand the meaning of Veterans Day.
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• June 20, 2023 – Understanding the Lis Pendens
• June 27, 2023 – Do’s and Don’ts Guidelines to a Dental Practice Transition