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The Legacy of November 11th

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Today is the day to honor those brave men and women of our nation, who were and are willing to put their lives on the line for the millions of strangers that make up the United States of America. They are our gladiators, our knights in shining armor, for they embody chivalry and are prepared to risk everything for the future of this country. They bloody their hands for us, people who tend to take their protection for granted. Some of us even object and discriminate against such services that enable them to even have their basic rights in the first place.

Who keeps our borders secure from terroristic threats? Who is courageous enough to travel to and fight for allied countries? Who is brave enough to tackle the cruel areas of the world, supplying medicine, food, clothing, protection, and faith for those in desperate need of it, those persecuted just for their religious beliefs, and others who unfortunately do not have access to the basic rights given here in America? Who is willing to actually care for people beyond our borders? It is surely not us.

World War I, infamously known as “The Great War,” officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 in Versailles, France. However, the fighting ended seven months earlier when an armistice, or a ceasefire, between the Allies and German forces came into effect on November 11th. Therefore, November 11, 1918, is marked as the end to “the war to end all wars.” As a result, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th to be the remembrance of Armistice Day. However, it was President Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 8, 1954, who issued the first proclamation for “Veterans Day” in order to honor veterans of all wars.

Nevertheless, November 11’s history traces back far beyond Veterans Day, with significant events that eventually shaped the world into what it is today. Below is November 11’s legacy, a timeline of what occurred in history on this specific date.

 Events

·       308: At Carnuntum, a Roman army camp, Emperor emeritus Diocletian discusses with Galerius, Augustus of the East, and Maximianus, the former Augustus of the West, in order to restore the Roman Empire.

·       1100: Henry I of England marries Matilda of Scotland, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland.

·       1215: The Fourth Lateran Council meets, defining the doctrine of transubstantiation, which is, according to the teachings of the Catholic Church, the process by which bread and wine are said to become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

·       1620: The Mayflower Compact was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower when they arrived in what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod.

·       1675: Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time to find the areas under the graph of y=f(x).

·       1750: The F.H.C. Society, also known as the Flat Hat Club, is established at Raleigh, Williamsburg, Virginia. It is the first college fraternity!

·       1778: The Cherry Valley Massacre; during the American Revolution, Loyalists and Seneca Native American forces attack a fort and village in eastern New York, slaughtering more than forty civilians and soldiers.

·       1831: In Jerusalem, Virginia, Nat Turner is hanged after encouraging a slave uprising.

·       1869: The Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act is enforced in Australia, giving the government full control over the indigenous people’s wages, their employment longevity, where they could live, and their children. This lead to the Stolen Generation or the Stolen Children, who were children who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church mission.

·       1889: Washington is admitted as the 42nd state of the United States.

·       1918: Emperor Charles I of Austria relinquishes his power.

·       1919: Lāčplēša day; Latvians commemorate victory over the Bermontians (the West Russian Volunteer Army) at the battle of Riga in their fight for independence.

1921: The Tomb of the Unknown is dedicated by United States President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery.

·       1940: WWII: Battle of Taranto; The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy launches the first aircraft strike in history, on the Italian fleet at Taranto.

·       1940: Armistice Day Blizzard; Unfortunately, an unexpected blizzard kills 144 in the U.S. Midwest.

·       1966: NASA launches Gemini 12.

·       1967: Vietnam War- Operation Commando Hunt is initiated to prevent the transit of People’s Army of Vietnam personnel and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail that ran from the southwestern Democratic Republic of Vietnam through the southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos and into South Vietnam.

·       1975: Angola becomes independent.

·       1992: The General Synod of the Church of England votes in order to finally allow women to become priests.

·       1992: Russian President Boris Yeltsin informed United States senators in a letter that Americans had been held in prison camps after WWII. Apparently, some of them were “summarily executed,” but others were still living in his country voluntarily.

·       2000: Kaprun disaster; 155 skiers and snowboarders are killed when a cable car catches on fire in an airplane tunnel in Kaprun, Austria.

·       2004: The New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is dedicated at the National War Memorial, Wellington.

·       2011: Bethesda Software releases The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, becoming one of the fastest selling video games of all time.

 

History of Veterans Day. U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. 2015. 8 Nov. 2015.

Veterans Day. Wikipedia. 2015. 8 Nov. 2015.

 

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