• Originally published November 10, 2009 at 4:45 p.m., updated November 10, 2009 at 4:55 p.m.

In the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns of war finally fell silent in Europe, Africa, the Pacific and Asia. With their foes vanquished, American soldiers and their allies began to come home.

A Canadian military doctor, grieving for the estimated 15-16 million dead from that horrible war looked out over a vast military cemetery in Europe, sat on the fender of a car and wrote a poem. It began:

In Flanders Field the poppies blow

between the crosses, row on row

that mark our place.

The surviving soldiers climbed out of their trenches, and the "War to End All Wars" was over.

Shortly thereafter, "Remembrance Day" was born in England, and President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed "Armistice Day" in America, (later Veterans Day), in 1919, to commemorate military veterans living and dead.

Today, for the 90th time, we observe Veterans Day, and pay homage to our veterans.

Of course, we all know that World War I, as it was later named, did not end all wars. They just got bloodier.

And always, always, on the front lines were the foot soldiers, sailors and airmen, paying for their country's causes with blood, sweat and tears. All over the globe in World War II, then in Korea, and Vietnam and today in the Mideast, they fight on, proving President Herbert Hoover's statement long ago that "Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die."

Any of our men and women who have seen war will nod in agreement.

Somewhere in America, an aged farmer who landed on the bloody beaches of Normandy some 65-plus years ago closes his weary eyes, unwillingly recalls the horrible images of that day, and wonders how so many people can forget.

Right here in Victoria, a Korean War veteran watches the calendar, and calls every year to remind his hometown newspaper to be sure to take notice of the anniversary of that war's end. Please don't forget again, he pleads.

In a mountain town in Colorado, a veritable hermit who is mostly separated from the world around him is a Vietnam veteran, still scarred, not just by the mortar round that landed too close but by the ugly and hateful reception he received on returning home.

And in military hospitals as close as San Antonio, veterans of Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom wish only to be remembered for their service and their sacrifice.

But they don't scream for attention, or gratitude. After all, they are soldiers. Their pride and honor won't let them complain.

Today, there are things you can do to give these American heroes a little of what they deserve. How?

Why not visit one of those wounded veterans in the hospital? Or how about calling a veteran you know - of any war - and just say thanks?

Maybe buy some flowers for a soldier's grave.

It doesn't matter if you knew him personally or not.

At the very least, just bow your head, giving thanks to God for all of them who have served, and whispering a prayer of hope for the safety of those still fighting on land, sea and in the air.

The late Elmer Davis, an old radio man and former director of the Office of War Information, uttered these wise words: "This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

God bless our brave veterans, and God bless the United States of America.

 

Jim Bishop is a retired senior editor for the Victoria Advocate. He lives in Victoria.

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