Today marks the 101st anniversary of the armistice that ended the first World War and the adoption of a day to commemorate all Veterans of that conflict, both living and dead. On the one year anniversary, 100 years ago today, President Woodrow Wilson offered this statement as his hope for what this holiday would mean: “To us in America the reflections of the Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for 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 the nations.” After years of celebration, and because of the petitions of Veteran organizations all over the country, the day became known as Veterans Day beginning in 1954.
My personal experience with war is non-existent. I was six when I watched the tragedy of 9/11 occur, but could not fully grasp the idea of what that meant to us as a nation. I grew up in a blissful world where my connection what through a television that showed the far-off world. In many ways, I took the sacrifice of those for granted. This changed when I spent two years in South Korea as a missionary. I had learned about the Korean war in school, but to be in the in place where it happened, to see the memorials of those both American and Korean who had died, and to hear the stories of those who had suffered before, during, and after the war, put into perspective the great sacrifice of our veterans. I saw for myself how the sacrifice of someone from my home had blessed the lives of those around the world.
What began as a targeted holiday, aimed at reminding the world that no such conflict as World War I should ever happen again, has grown to encompass this spirit of the day that President Woodrow set forth 100 years ago for veterans of all wars. We set a day aside to honor and esteem those whose sacrifice allow us to be free thinkers, free speakers, and free enterprisers in all aspects of our life. We are grateful here at Barrier Pest Control for the opportunity we have to be a free enterprise in a free nation with an opportunity to serve in our own way the members of our community by keeping the homes free from unwanted pests. Happy Veterans Day!
Blog Courtesy of Ben at Barrier Pest Control
