Looking at history, meaning of Veterans Day

You may understand 5G, know what 3M stands for or have tried 7UP. What makes those numbers matter are the stories and products behind them.

Now, do you know the significance of 11/11/11? The triple 11 marks the hour, the day and the month of the cease-fire that ended what was billed as “the war to end all wars.”

While that 1918 dream has yet to come true, we — as we should — still honor veterans of that and, now, all other wars on that date each year. But since that first Armistice Day, as the holiday was called until 1954, this nation has been involved in at least 14 wars or armed conflicts that have taken nearly half a million civilian and military lives and cost more than $2 trillion.

Remembering all the orphans; widows; permanently crippled men and women; crumbled cities and towns; and tattered economies behind those numbers makes it difficult for some to see hope in Veterans Day, as the holiday now is called.

It is a difficulty shared with Memorial Day, observed in late May. Originally — when it was known as Decoration Day because of the practice of placing flowers on graves — to honor those soldiers who died in the Civil War (or War Between the States), the holiday now honors all military men and women who died representing our country in any of our wars.

Nevertheless, there seemed to be a recognition of an unnamed ally — perhaps the “one” (as described in the Bible at Ephesians 4:5 and 6) many consider significant — in World War I. whose end was the major reason for the upcoming holiday.

When President Woodrow Wilson, the pious son of a Presbyterian minister, designated Nov. 11 to be the day to “honor with solemn pride” in the heroism of those who died in service of their country, he added “and with gratitude for the victory.”

Some might consider it ironic and others only fitting that it was President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the former supreme commander of Allied troops in Europe during World War II, who signed the law in 1954 changing the name to Veterans Day to honor veterans of all wars.

Another staunch Presbyterian with a Mennonite family background, Ike also seemed to acknowledge the “one” as an ally in war and peace. It is he under whose leadership the words “In

God We Trust” were adopted as our national motto and the words “under God” officially were added to the Pledge of Allegiance. So it is not surprising that he would link honoring veterans and faith in this way:

“... We are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace or war.”