Richard Shank
Columnist
This week, America pauses to thank veterans who served in the Armed Forces in all of America’s wars, living or deceased, in wartime or peacetime.
The annual event is called Veterans Day.
The history of this annual observance is a story worth repeating. An armistice agreement ending World War I, known as the Treaty of Versailles, was signed November 11, 1918. News reports of the event pointed out a coincidence that the armistice was ratified during the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.
Early in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation naming November 11 as Armistice Day. Nineteen years later, Congress working with President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the day a national holiday, which continues today.
During the next 35 years, America fought two more wars: World War II and the Korean War.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the nation to victory in World War II as the Supreme Allied Commander, spearheaded efforts to honor the nation’s veterans of all wars. Ike, as he was affectionately called, signed legislation changing the name to Veterans Day, a designation which remains to this day.
In 1968, legislation was passed changing Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October, an event that I still find hard to understand. Then, in 1975 President Gerald Ford signed legislation reverting the date back to November 11 as prescribed in 1919.
The casualty figures from America’s wars are staggering. Between the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775, and today, nearly 1.2 million Americans paid the supreme sacrifice defending the nation throughout the world. During the Civil War, between 1861 and 1865, when Americans fought Americans, 651,0501 are recorded as battlefield deaths, and an additional 539,054 died as the due to injuries and illness.
The Civil War happened at a time when America’s population was slightly more than 31 million.
September 17, 1862, reputed to be the deadliest day of American warfare, 17,862 were killed in the Battle of Antietam. During the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg, nearly 50,000 Americans perished on both sides.
Growing up in rural Saline County, I have fond memories of visiting with veterans who told of their service. All were very proud of their service in the military as one would expect. Many made friendships with other soldiers, which would remain for a lifetime.
Our closest neighbor on the farm was Walt Harris who told of seeing Hiroshima and Nagasaki following the atomic bomb blast in August 1945. He told of seeing utter destruction from as far as the eye could see in all directions. From what Walt indicated, it was a permanent memory which had no end.
Another neighbor, Bill Gans, served in Alaska during the early days of World War II, in a battle that for unknown reasons, is not often mentioned. From what I have read, the Japanese, after attacking Pearl Harbor in Hawaii December 7, 1941, thought they could keep our attention off the European theatre, by attacking Alaska, then an American territory. If all went as planned, the Japanese could put a quick end to the war.
In 1942, the Japanese came ashore on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska, but were repelled by American infantrymen, including Bill Gans. Following 21 days of combat, they fled on a foggy night not to be seen again. Some said America had won its first World War II battle on American soil.
Andy Kenison, another neighbor, told of his service as a part of occupational forces in Japan following the end of the war, and told of his involvement working on a crew building a new school for the Japanese.
As a child, I remember Henry Little proudly displayed a World War I veteran tag on the front bumper of his old Ford pickup.
Vern Miller, the state’s legendary Attorney General, told of serving in the Army in the late 1940s guarding the 38th parallel between North and South Korea in what was the days leading up to the Korean War. He said the winter days and nights were cold which went along with a bleak landscape associated with the terrain in that part of the world.
So, during this week, let us thank those who served to maintain our democratic form of government that next year observes a 250th anniversary.
Let us hope our greatest days are ahead.
