The Origins of the Veterans Day Symbols That Still Unite Us

On this episode of Our American Stories, the story of Veterans Day began with silence. When the guns of World War I finally stopped, the world gathered to mark peace on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day. Over time, that single moment grew into a holiday that now honors all who have worn the uniform.

Anne Clare, a regular contributor to Our American Stories, explains how the day’s symbols, like the blue and gold colors and the bright poppy blooms, came to carry so much meaning.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
including yours. Send them to our American Stories dot com.
That's our Americanstories dot com. They're some of our favorites.
And today, all show long, we're celebrating Veterans Day, and
we bring you next a story from our regular contributor

(00:32):
Anne Claire. Anne lives in Washington, and today she shares
with us a bit of Veterans Day history and what
some of the symbols of this day mean. Take it away, and.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
One hundred and three years ago, World War One ended.
The Armistice that brought about the end of the First
World War went into effect in nineteen eighteen, November eleventh,
at eleven am. Now, several nations still mark this day

(01:09):
and use it as a chance to remember not only
the huge historical event of the Armistice being signed, but
also to remember all of the sacrifices that took place before.
In places like Canada and Britain, it is known as
Remembrance Day. In the United States, it's had a couple

(01:30):
of names. Up until nineteen fifty four, we recognized it
as Armistice Day, primarily a day set aside to honor
veterans of World War One. But in nineteen fifty four,
after World War II had sent millions of other Americans
into service, and after we'd also been involved in conflicts

(01:55):
in Korea, President Eisenhower signed off to change the name
of the holiday, and now all of our calendars are
marked on the eleventh of November with the words Veterans Day.
People observe this day and honor those who serve in

(02:18):
various ways through ceremonies through moments of silence. The original
concept was for a day that would be celebrated with
parades and public meetings. Symbols also are used in the
celebration and remembrance. One notable symbol is the red poppy,
which came into prominence as a symbol of veterans during

(02:40):
World War One, largely due to a poem by John
McCrae in Flanders Fields. Another symbol that came about during
the years of World War One that was used to
recognize those who served and those who sacrificed were blue
star and gold star banners. Now, this tradition was one

(03:06):
that I hadn't actually seen evidence of for quite some
time until not too long ago when my family was
driving through the town of Bremerton, Washington. While some towns
I visited have flower baskets or decorative banners of some
kind hanging from the light posts on the streets, when

(03:28):
I took the accident to Bremerton, I noticed that on
the poles there were white banners hanging instead. Each banner
said at the top, Bremerton proudly salutes, and underneath this
was a large blue star, followed by the name of
a member of the Armed Forces and the name of

(03:49):
the person or group that had sponsored this banner. While
I had some recollection of just what banners like this signified,
seeing them inspired some research. The blue star banners actually
date back to nineteen seventeen. The design was patented by

(04:10):
Robert L. Kaiser. Kaiser was a veteran himself and he
had two sons who were serving overseas. These banners became
very popular with families during the First World War because
they were away of remembering their family members who were
serving far away. Each family's banner would bear one blue

(04:32):
star for each family member serving in the Armed Forces.
These banners would be put on display decorating windows of
the family home. They were a way to show others
what their family was going through, but also to show
that their loved ones, though far away, were not forgotten. Now.
As we drove farther down the road into Bremerton, several

(04:55):
banners hung bearing gold stars rather than blue. In nineteen eighteen,
President Woodrow Wilson approved the practice of mothers who had
lost a child to war adding a gold star to
their black morning arm band. The stars on these banners

(05:16):
also took on a new significance. Families who had lost
loved ones to war added gold stars over the top
of the blue on their family's banner to mark this
ultimate sacrifice. These banners continued to be popular through World
War One and increased in popularity during the Second World War. However,

(05:40):
in the following decades they kind of fell off in
popularity during the wars in Korea and Vietnam. More recently, however,
they've received increased interest, especially since nine to eleven, and
that's where Bremerton's use of these banners comes into play.
She had this reminder as we were driving along, and

(06:03):
I appreciated the chance to see these banners, both for
the chance they gave me to explain their significance to
my children, and also for the reminder to just stop
and appreciate, even just for a moment, our hard won freedoms,
and thank God for those who've sacrificed to preserve them.

Speaker 1 (06:27):
And great work is always by Monte Montgomery on the piece,
the production and the storytelling. And a special thanks to
Anne Claire who does so much good work for us,
and my goodness, what she said at the end was
just perfect. Just stop and take a moment and appreciate
our hard won freedoms and those who sacrificed to preserve them.

(06:48):
We try to do that on this show regularly, but
on Veterans Day, well we do it all show long
when we come back more stories of Veterans Day here
on our American Story Folks. If you love the stories

(07:30):
we tell about this great country, and especially the stories
of America's rich past, know that all of our stories
about American history, from war to innovation, culture and faith
are brought to us by the great folks at Hillsdale College,
a place where students study all the things that are
beautiful in life and all the things that are good
in life. And if you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale

(07:50):
will come to you with their free and terrific online courses.
Go to Hillsdale dot edu to learn more.