Nov11

THE ELEVENTH HOUR
OF THE ELEVENTH DAY
OF THE ELEVENTH MONTH
11 A.M., November 11, 1918

ARMISTICE DAY

IN FLANDERS FIELDS
~~~Lt.Col. John McCrae, M.D. (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many, to so few.
~~~Winston Churchill, 1940

Now known as Veterans Day, President Woodrow Wilson, on November 11, 1919, to mark the one year anniversary of the ending of World War I, proclaimed the day as Armistice Day. The formal observance of Armistice Day began in 1921 when the Unknown Soldier from World War I was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. The day officially received its name in 1926 by Congressional Resolution. Twelve years later it became a national holiday.

In 1954, following World War II and The Korean Conflict, the scope of the day was broadened to Veterans Day to remember all of those, living and dead, who served with the U.S. Armed Forces in time of War. President Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.

This is also a holiday in France, The United Kingdom (Remembrence Sunday) and Canada (Remembrence Day)

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