A Day of Remembrance and Sacrifice
Our veterans are some of the most amazing citizens that are living in the United States and are prime factors in how the United States has progressed into becoming one of the world’s biggest "super powers." Almost all families across the United States have some sort of military background, my own family included. I was honored to attend my own grandfather’s graduation from high school when I was one month old in a special Veteran’s Day ceremony that recognized veterans who had been unable to finish high school due to their enlistment in the armed services. In my opinion, veterans have the right to have more than just one day dedicated to them and their service to the country, but since the official day we committed to our veterans and their service is November 11 each year, I’ll stick to talking about this one day, and its history. Veteran’s Day, traditionally known as Armistice Day, was made a valid United States holiday on November 11, 1919, on the first anniversary of the end of World War I. The name “Armistice Day” was taken from the temporary cessation of hostilities, otherwise known as an armistice, between Germany and the Allied countries on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It was called Armistice Day until 1954 when Dwight D. Eisenhower changed the name to Veteran’s Day in recognition also of those who served in World War II and the Korean War. Holidays, such as Memorial Day, often are often mistaken for Veteran’s Day and vice versa, but Memorial Day signifies more of an emphasis on fallen soldiers that the United States had lost. Veterans Day focuses more on all veterans who have and are serving the country.
There was, interestingly enough, a major change to when Veteran’s Day was celebrated for a number of years. Congress passed what became known as the Uniform Holidays Bill, which changed the celebration of four national holidays to Mondays so that people could enjoy three day weekends. Holidays that were affected were Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, Columbus Day, and George Washington’s birthday. As a result, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October in 1971. There was so much outrage over this change [mostly because of November 11th's historical significance] that President Ford signed a bill returning the date of observance to November 11th in 1978. Several other countries in Europe also celebrate this day and it is common for them to observe two minutes of silence at 11:00 a.m. every November 11th. Interesting statistics about the current veteran population in the United States: 16.1 million living veterans served in at least one war, and of the 16 million veterans who served in World War II, approximately 558,000 are still living. Veterans are an extremely vital part of life here at Bergan as we have many students' parents who serve or have served in the military, and Archbishop Bergan Catholic School has educated many men and women who have served our country on one of the grandest scales possible. One such person is Kenny Winn, a 1994 graduate of Bergan, who joined the United States Army and served for twenty-two and a half years and recently retired this past August. Winn came to Archbishop Bergan and presented to the students for our annual Veteran's Day prayer service. One aspect of advice he gave all students was "think on what this day means and remember to thank those who have served. Remember the sacrifice both the veterans and their families gave for our freedoms to remain protected in this country."
Our thoughts and prayers are with the many veterans connected, in any way, to our school on this most important of national holidays. Thank you for your service to our country! Thank you for the sacrifices you gave for us!
