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November 7, 2010
WOLF CREEK HERITAGE MUSEUM NOTES by Virginia Scott MUSEUM HAPPENINGS Beautiful weather and the leaves are still golden and on the trees. I am afraid that will change this week with the predicted winds. This is Veterans Day and there will be a lot of programs honoring our servicemen. If you have a chance attend one of the programs and thank them for their service. This Sunday the Darrouzett Legion will hold their annual donation dinner at noon and at 3 pm the museum will host a reception for all veterans. We will be honoring the veterans of the Vietnam conflict. If you are a Vietnam Veteran and haven't received an invitation, please call and get on our list. We would also appreciate you calling and letting us know that you plan to attend. We had the last look of the History Book this week and mailed it back so good, bad, or indifferent the book is finished. All things considered, it is our considered opinion that it will be a great book and the two volumes together are going to make a great history of our county that will serve us well until the next generation wants to update them. We will be redoing the archive room on Wednesday and Friday with new shelves and organizing our storage boxes. This will complete our capacity for this room until the new building hopefully next year. HISTORICAL MUSINGS It is always appropriate for us to remember why we observe November the 11th as Veterans Day. In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, the Allied powers signed a cease-fire agreement (an armistice) with Germany at Rethiondes, France on November 11, 1918, bringing World War I to a close. The "war to end all wars" was over. November 11, 1919 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States, to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during World War I in order to ensure a lasting peace. On Armistice Day, soldiers who survived the war marched in a parade through their home towns. Politicians and veteran officers gave speeches and held ceremonies of thanks for peace they had won. Armistice Day officially received its name in the United States in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later. Congress voted Armistice Day a federal holiday in 1938, 20 years after the war ended. but Americans realized that the previous war would not be the last one. World War II began the following year and nations great and small again participated in a bloody struggle. After the Second World War, Armistice Day continued to be observed on November 11. In 1953 townspeople in Emporia, Kansas called the holiday Veterans' Day in gratitude to the veterans in their town. Soon after, Congress passed a bill introduced by a Kansas congressman remaining the federal holiday to Veterans' Day. Beginning in 1954, the United States designated November 11 as Veterans' Day to honor veterans of all U.S. wars. 1971 President Nixon declared it a federal holiday on the second Monday in November. Most groups continued to observe it on the actual 11th so in 1978, congress restored the federal holiday to November 11th. Americans still give thanks for peace on Veterans' Day. There are ceremonies and speeches and at 11:00 am most Americans observe a moment of silence, remembering those who fought for peace. After the United States' involvement in Vietnam War, the emphasis on holiday activities has shifted. There are fewer military parades and ceremonies. Veterans gather at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. to place gifts and stand quiet vigil at the names of their friends and relatives who fell in the Vietnam War. Families who have lost sons and daughters in war turn their thoughts more toward peace and the avoidance of future wars. At present we think and pray for the veterans of the Persian Gulf War and hope for peace and withdrawal soon. A salute to all Veterans and Serviceman. God Bless! |
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