Veterans Day

From President Wilson on 11-11-1919 - A year ago today our enemies laid down their arms in accordance with an armistice which rendered them impotent to renew hostilities, and gave to the world an assured opportunity to reconstruct its shattered order and to work out in peace a new and more just set of international relations. The soldiers and people of the European Allies had fought and end ured for more than four years to uphold the barrier of civilization against the aggressions of armed force. We ourselves had been in the conflict something more than a year and a half. With splendid forgetfulness of mere personal concerns, we remodeled our industries, concentrated our financial resources, increased our agricultural output, and assembled a great army, so that at the last our power was a decisive factor in the victory. We were able to bring the vast resources, material and moral, of a great and free people to the assistance of our associates in Europe who had suffered and sacrificed without limit in the cause for which we fought. Out of this victory there arose new possibilities of political freedom and economic concert. The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for high purposes, and the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquests which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of men. To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
In The United States, Veterans Day is now
set aside to thank and honor all those
who have served in the military. And thus
today,
nations all around the world will again commemorate
on the eleventh hour
of the eleventh day
of the eleventh month.
And today is Veterans Day,

(00:22):
originally known as Armistice Day. It's a federal
holiday in The United States observed annually on
November 11 for honoring military veterans of the
United States Armed Forces.
It,
it kinda collates a few holidays since, you
know, other countries, including Armistice
Day, Remembrance Day,

(00:43):
and, you know, it occurs on the anniversary
of the end of World War one, which
is the eleventh hour of the eleventh day
of the eleventh month of twenty eight teen
or twenty eighteen, nineteen eighteen.
And that's when the armistice with Germany went
into effect.
And,
yeah, it's
a it's a day that's different than Memorial

(01:05):
Day.
Memorial Day, also a US public holiday, is
in May.
Veterans Day commemorates the service of all US
veterans.
Well,
the Memorial Day,
which grew out of the civil civil war
specifically honors those who have died while in
military service.

(01:26):
Another military holiday that also occurs in Maine
is May is Armed Forces Day, which honors
those currently
serving. So
let's get this straight.
Veterans Day is for veterans
of the armed forces.
The

(01:47):
Memorial Day
celebrates people who have died while in service,
and Armed Forces Day honors those who are
currently serving.
Of course, there's a Women's Veterans Day as
well.
Don't doesn't say when when that is, but,
it makes sense.
But on 11/11/1919,

(02:08):
president
Woodrow Wilson issued a message to his countrymen
on the on the first armaments day,
which he expressed what he felt
the day meant to Americans.
It says,
a year ago today, our enemies laid down
arms in accordance with an armistice,
which rendered them impotent to renew hostilities

(02:32):
and gave the world an assured opportunity
to reconstruct
its shattered order and work out peace.
A new more just set of international relations,
the soldiers and people of the European allies
who fought and endured for months,
more than four years,

(02:53):
for months. Oh, what is it? Endured for
more than four years. There we go. Jeez,
I can't read.
I shouldn't be reading anyway.
But to uphold
the barrier of civilization
against aggressions of armed force,
We ourselves had been in the conflict

(03:13):
something more than a year and a half.
So, anyway,
he he did the whole spiel. I'll I'll
put actually, I'm gonna put his speech in
the
in the show notes here. So let me
copy that. Alright. And,
the United States Congress adopted a resolution on
06/04/2026

(03:35):
requesting that president Coolidge issue an annual plot
proclamation calling for the observance of November 11.
A congressional
act,
approved on 05/13/1938
made November 11 of each year a legal
holiday,
so that's why we don't get any mail
today.
And in 1945,

(03:56):
World War two veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham,
Alabama
had the idea of a national holiday that
would honor war veterans
living and dead
and celebrated the armistice
celebrated on armistice
Armistice
Day.
Weeks
led led a delegation

(04:17):
to general
Dwight Eisenhower who supported the idea, the National
Veterans Day.
Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947
in Alabama and annually until his death in
1985.
President Reagan honored
weeks at the White House with a presidential
citizenship medal in 1982

(04:40):
as a driving force for the national holiday.
Elizabeth
Dole,
who prepared the briefing for president Reagan,
determined that Weeks was the father of Veterans
Day.
But, anyway,
all that to say that,
those of you who served in the United
States military, I thank you.

(05:01):
I served with you,
and
it's,
it's a good day. You know, post office
gets the day off.
Anyway,
everybody have a good one. This is a
short and and sweet one with all kinds
of
screw ups and, whatever. That's what makes podcasting

(05:22):
great.
This is, day 11 of NAPOD POMO.
Go check out all the other shows that
are participating over at naypodpomo.0rg,
and we'll catch you tomorrow with something a
little more substantial.
Again, happy Veterans Day.