Watman's World

On November 4th, millions of Americans cast their secret ballots not only for the President of the United States, but for other federal, state and local officials. Voters also decided many other important referendum issues at the polls.
In the process of making these decisions we exercised free speech, demonstrated peacefully, benefited from a free press and did so without any fear of reprisal by the party in power. Our court system stands ready to resolve any election disputes and the rule of law will prevail.
As imperfect as our system of government may be, November 4th stands as living testimony to the benefits of being Americans. One week later, we all have a chance to thank those whose service in our military has permitted us to maintain and expand these freedoms for more than two hundred years.
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 11th, a color guard made up of representatives of all of our military services will “Present Arms” at the Tomb of the Unknowns, at Arlington National Cemetery. The ceremony includes the laying of a presidential wreath, followed by the playing of “Taps”.
The tomb contains the remains of individual, unidentified American war dead from World War I, World War II and the Korean War. It is the central location for the national celebration of both Veterans and Memorial Day.
Memorial Day has been set aside to honor all those that died serving in our military. The Tomb of the Unknowns is obviously an excellent choice for these activities.
The reason why this location is also the focal point on Veterans Day, which is reserved for honoring all those that have served, is not generally as well known.
At 11 a.m., on November 11, 1918 the fighting of World War I ended with the signing of an armistice or truce. Within a few years, England, France and the United States buried unknown soldiers in their nation’s highest place of honor. The dedication of these memorial sites all took place on November 11th.
Congress declared November 11th officially as Armistice Day in 1926. It became a national holiday in 1938. If we were not involved in any further military conflicts after “the war to end all wars” we still might be celebrating Armistice Day today.
Instead, World War II required even more American men and women to answer the call to sacrifice for the good of the country. The ending of the war saw a grateful nation changing Armistice Day to Veteran’s Day in 1954. It was an effort to acknowledge the contributions of all those that had put on uniforms to defend the nation.
In 1968, an ill-advised Congress changed the celebration of Veterans Day from November 11th to the fourth Monday of October. The public strongly opposed the change. In 1978, Congress responded to these concerns by returning Veterans Day to its original date.
Starting with the Revolutionary War and through 2007, approximately 48 million American men and women have served in the nation’s military services. It is estimated that today there are 25 million living veterans in our population of 306 million.
Approximately, 1.2 million of our military personnel have died while on active duty. Of these 653,000 were battle casualties. In addition, almost 1.5 million suffered non-mortal wounds while in the nation’s service. Since World War I, 142,246 American fighting men and women have been detained a Prisoners of War. Of these, an estimated 30,000 are alive today.
Sgt. Dennis Edward O’Brien, USMC summed it up better than I can. He said, “It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag.”
The Pledge of Allegiance to our flag was written in 1892 to help commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America and to help bind the nation back together after the Civil War. It consists of only thirty-one words.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” These words are simple but powerful.
Each time we recite the Pledge of Allegiance we should remember all those that served in the military. They’re the ones that paid a high price throughout our history to permit us to exercise our freedoms as we did on November 4th.