Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road

Armistice Day/Veterans Day 2024

It’s been called Veterans Day in the United States since 1954. But it was originally called Armistice Day, and the date on which we remember the veterans of all wars was originally chosen because it is the day on which Germany surrendered to the Allies at the end of World War I, in 1918.

It is still called Armistice Day in France, where most of the fighting was done in that bloody war, and it is a solemn day to remember the costs of war, and those who gave their lives fighting pour la France.

Millions of lives, most of them young lives, have been lost in battle. Every veteran killed has family and friends who mourn that loss. Every veteran who managed to come home came home forever changed, and chastened by what they saw and experienced at war.

Almost all of us regret the loss of the talent, courage, and promise that went into the graves with those young lives.

Today we pay tribute to them, and honor the sacrifices they made to protect freedom, decency, democracy. We can never thank them enough. We can only do all we can, each of us, to find ways to protect and honor those same ideals.

Two of my uncles lived long and honorable lives after their military service in World War II. You can read their war stories in the links provided.

These sacrifices have not been forgotten in France. Let’s not any of us forget.

Janet Hulstrand is an American writer/editor who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.

November 11, 2024 at 8:35 am 2 comments