Veterans Day 2001

There has never been a Veterans Day quite like this. A war against terrorism is being waged both abroad and here at home. The men and women being honored by a holiday that has managed to keep its solemnity are not just who wore the uniforms of the military, but also those who wear the uniforms of firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel, airline pilots, flight attendants and postal workers. The list of the fallen being remembered has expanded from soldiers, sailors and airmen to include some 6,000 men, women and children who were overtaken by this war on Sept. 11. The origins of Veterans Day has taken on a significance never imagined.

Congress voted Armistice Day as a legal holiday in 1938, 20 years after the first armistice ended the carnage of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. Although the first world war was originally called the “war to end all wars,” by the late 1930s few believed that hope could still be kept alive. Storm clouds were building in Europe, and on Sept. 1, 1939, World War II began when Hitler’s troops invaded Poland.

In 1953 the people of Emporia, Kan., began calling the holiday Veterans Day as a tribute to the veterans of their town. Soon afterward, Congress passed a bill introduced by a Kansas congressman renaming the national holiday Veterans Day. The name will remain, hopefully as long as there are caring people to remember its significance every Nov. 11.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is set aside each year in solemn remembrance of the first Armistice Day, when the world rejoiced and celebrated after four years of unspeakable horror, and to remember the sacrifices men and women made in order to ensure a peace that would last for many years. Residents of communities such as Bangor got out every piece of red, white and blue they could find and marched in the streets that day in 1918, and in 1919 they continued to welcome home the troops who marched quietly down Main Street. Their eyes told a thousand stories, although most were left untold for the rest of their lives.

Over the years the way Americans celebrated Veterans Day shifted from solely honoring the dead to honoring veterans of all wars. Especially after the nation’s long involvement in the Vietnam War, the holiday’s emphasis was broadened to include not only parades and patriotic orations in village squares to gatherings at major landmarks like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, where people walk silently along the wall placing gifts and standing quiet vigil. Often their hands fall over the name of a Smith, a Jones. a Rodriguez or an O’Reilly, names of those who made the supreme sacrifice in an unpopular war never declared by Congress.

Support groups organized by veterans of military service, including the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, work tirelessly each November to raise funds for their charitable activities by selling paper poppies crafted by disabled veterans. Although a more frequent sight in past years than today, the imitation bright red wildflower is still seen tucked into lapels as a symbol of World War I and its countless bloody battles. They are memoralized in a John McCrae poem, written following a 1915 batttle in Europe. Its opening line reads, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow/ Between the crosses, row on row.”

Veterans Day 2001 fell on a Sunday, providing a three-day weekend of opportunities to honor those who have served and who serve still. This morning at 10:15, a parade will wind from Brewer to Bangor, concluding in a ceremony at the Cole Land Transportation Museum and a concert by the Bangor Band. Attend if you can.

If not, please take a few minutes to thanks a member of your own family

who served, or is currently serving in this

country. Their courage and dedication ensures the freedom many take for granted. Finally, remember veterans in your prayers. Remember that America’s veterans are common Americans of uncommon valor and devotion to duty. This day belongs to these gallant Americans. Ladies and gentlemen, we salute you.