Veterans Day

Last Friday I talked about the historic scene that took place in Grant Park, Chicago the previous Tuesday night. If you had been alive, and in attendance at the Palace of Versailles on November 11th, 1918, you would have been a part of another historic moment. Leaders from around the world gathered outside of Paris to sign the armistice that ended the deadliest war in the history of the world. Literally millions of soldiers died on both side of the conflict. It was hoped that the absolute slaughter of humankind would prevent the waging of another war. It was not to be. In just about 20 years another world-wide conflict broke out with millions more sacrificed.

We do take something from that day in 1918. The armistice, signed at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, is the point at which we stop to remember our fallen soldiers, sailors and marines. We don’t have school tomorrow, and I hope you’ll stop to thank those who have died in all the wars that America has fought. Since 1900, we have lost men, and in some cases women, in World War I, World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, The First Gulf War, The War in Afghanistan and the Iraqi War. The last two continue as I speak.

I hope that none of you will be put in a position to wage war and potentially sacrifice your life for the rest of us. I’d like to think that the world is going in the right direction, but until we reach that destination, we’ll continue to remember and thank those who have laid down their lives to protect our way of life.