By Reginald Johnson
On Nov. 11, 1918 ---- 100 years ago ---- one of the most savage
conflicts in history came to an end.
Some 30 million
people were killed in World War I, called at the time the “War to End All Wars.” The conflict saw bitter trench warfare, hand-to-hand
combat and the use of chemical weapons. Tens of thousands of young men were killed
in a single day by machine gun fire or poison gas. Combatants who weren’t
killed were often maimed for life, or, like my grandfather, left blind by gas.
But an Armistice
signed at 11 am on Nov. 11, finally brought an end to the horror.
People in the United States and Europe --- where the war was
fought --- rejoiced that the four-year nightmare was over. Peace was finally at hand.
To observe the end to World War I, an
“Armistice Day” was set up in 1920. Parades and public gatherings took place “celebrating
the peace that came two years earlier while solemnly remembering those millions
who perished during war,” writes Tarik Kauff, a member of Veterans for Peace
and an editor for the organization’s newsletter.
Six years later,
Kauff said, Congress passed a resolution which said that the “recurring
anniversary of November 11, 1918 should be commemorated with thanksgiving and
prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace between nations.”
In 1938, Armistice Day was made into a legal
federal holiday, “dedicated to the cause of world peace.”
Armistice Day was observed without
interruption until 1954. But in that
year --- one year after the Korean War had ended and eight years after the end
of World War II --- political leaders decided that the name of the observance
should be changed to Veterans Day. Under
pressure from veterans service organizations, who said veterans from all wars
should be honored, a militaristic
Congress and President Dwight Eisenhower approved the name change.
In making the change, the spirit of the observance was altered from one of both honoring the
sacrifice of veterans and building world peace to one of honoring veterans,
emphasizing patriotism and implicitly endorsing the need for the wars that the
US has fought in the past and ones that will be fought in the future.
As Kauff wrote in
his article “Reclaim Armistice Day” in a recent publication by the same name published
by Veterans for Peace, the “powers that be thought it more fitting to honor the
living veterans and glorify their sacrifice for country,” rather than stress
the need for building world peace.
And so it has gone over the years on every
Veterans Day, which is being observed again today. Veterans who fought in America’s
wars are hailed as heroes in thunderous speeches. There is no mention of the
fact that some of these wars, such as Vietnam or Iraq, were clearly wrong and
that huge numbers of innocent civilians, not to mention many Americans,
needlessly perished. It is implied that whatever wars took place --- no matter
how much bloodshed there was --- the conflicts were justified in the name of
protecting American security. There is no talk about the need to avoid future
wars and to build a better structure for peace.
While it is not the intention of many of the
participants, Veterans Day observances serve as a propaganda tool for the government
to justify future wars.
A number of veterans,
particularly those associated with Veterans for Peace, are now speaking out
about the need to emphasize peace and not just glorify the military and war. Veterans for Peace in recent years has been
actively pushing the idea of reclaiming Armistice Day and bringing back the
original concepts behind the day when we honor the sacrifice of veterans.
“Veterans, many of
whom have seen the futility and inhumanity of war and militarism, do not want wars
for empire and profit, nor do we need to be glorified, honored, or put on
pedestals for killing or be prepared to kill,” writes Kauff, a former Army
paratrooper.
“What we veterans
really need is for society to reclaim the spirit of Armistice Day and unite in
the common desire of the human spirit for peace,” he said.
The organization is
trying to spread the word for bringing back Armistice Day on social media and
contacting elected representatives. They have also urged churches, schools and
community centers to ring bells eleven times on November 11 at 11 AM to
remember the soldiers and civilians killed or injured by warfare.
