On November 11th, 1947, veteran Raymond Weeks organized the first “Veterans Day” parade in commemoration of the veterans of all wars. It was organized even though November 11th already had an international holiday for veterans: Armistice Day.
Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day, marks the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 when nations of the world declared a truce, ending World War I.
The conflict was the result of a series of pacts between nations that resulted in a full-on conflict with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914. A domino effect that swept across Europe, the result was a total war for the nations and their colonies.
The eventual truce and signing of the Treaty of Versailles were seen as an end to conflict. World War I, or The Great War, was seen as “the war to end all wars.”
In remembrance of this event, nations involved in the conflict conducted a public holiday of remembrance. Starting in 1919, the day was recognized by the Allied nations as a day of remembrance. The United States ratified it as a national holiday in 1938.
The 1950s marked the height of the military-industrial complex in the U.S. Post-war infrastructure was turned inwards to reshape the nation. In turn, the U.S. military was given a new level of pedigree.
This came in 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a former U.S. general, passed the approved Senate bill to change Armistice Day to Veteran’s day. The change was proposed by congressmen Edward Herbert to change the holiday to recognize veterans of all wars.
Specifically, veteran Raymond Weeks felt that Armistice Day only recognized the soldiers lost in World War I. The connotations around the holiday bound Armistice and the first world war together, and lead to the change of the holiday’s name.
Since then, Armistice Day has been recognized as Veterans Day in the U.S., a title that doesn’t fit the day's purpose. The point of Armistice Day is not limited to a reflection on veterans, but a moment of peace.
Armistice is a French word derived from the post-classical Latin “armistitium.” Armistitium can be broken down into arma- (arms), -stit- (to stop, suspend) and -ium (to do). At its core, the word means “to stop using weapons,” a declaration of truce and the first step to peace.
Armistice Day becomes a day to recognize not only the veterans and soldiers lost in conflict, but to ruminate on the idea of peace. The first day of Armistice in 1918 wasn’t solely a reflection on life, but a promise of peace.
Calling it Veterans Day doesn’t capture the meaning of November 11th, in context to its history. Instead, the holiday has been changed, to remove the nuances of the word and recognize a portion of those involved in war.
Veterans never include the nurses, the people who worked supply lines and the victims of bombing raids. Armistice Day recognizes a call for peace and an end to total warfare. To say Armistice Day is to recognize a history of warfare and the prospect of one day achieving peace.
Benjamin Ervin is a senior studying English literature and writing at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Benjamin know by emailing him be425014@ohio.edu.
