To quote former president
Calvin Coolidge, "The nation which forgets
its defenders will be itself forgotten."
It is important that we remember all the lives that were lost as well as
honor and thank all of the veterans for protecting our freedom this
Veterans this day.
November 11 is rooted in history to remember our nation’s veterans.
In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November
11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day which ended the hostilities in
World War I.
Congress in 1938 approved an Act to make the 11th
of November in each year a legal holiday —a day to be dedicated to the cause of
world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice
Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of
World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest
mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history;
after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the
urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by
striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word
"Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954,
November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
In remarks made at the
Veterans Day Ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on November 11, 1988, Ronald
Reagan said:
“We remember those who
were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were
prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of
duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry
with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a
noble cause.”
The observance
of Veterans Day on November 11 not only preserves the historical significance
of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day
which is to celebrate America’s veterans for their heroism in continuing to strengthen
and protect this great nation. The RNLA honors and thanks all of America’s veterans on this day.
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