After WWI, November 11 was celebrated as Armistice Day. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany. WWI was called "the war to end all wars" -- didn't really work out that way. Since WWI, America alone has fought fourteen wars -- at least, by my count. I may have missed one or two. The war to end all wars was followed by one helluva lot of wars. In fact, to a large degree, WWII was a result of a poorly thought out treaty ending WWI. The German economy was ruined by the cost of reparations and the people, tired of runaway inflation in combination with a worldwide depression, were desperate enough to follow anyone who promised a way out. Fascism made that promise.
Then, as now, money made the world go 'round.
After WWII, Armistice Day became Veterans Day. It was that day that Americans celebrated yesterday. It was a day to honor the fallen and has become a day to honor all war veterans. It'd be nice if we followed up the wreaths and parades and speeches and flags with some sort of actual help, though. As things are now, we help a few and let the majority of those who need help slide. No doubt we've made a lot of progress since WWI, but we haven't come close to solving all the problems we create with our wars. Like the Armistice that ended WWI, our past wars intrude on the present. The wars come home with the heroes who'd fought them.
Voice of America:
Veterans Day, November 11, is a national holiday set aside to honor the men and women who have served in America's armed forces and to acknowledge the debt we owe them. However, a new study shows that veterans are more likely to be homeless than those in the general population, and that, nationwide, veterans tend to have less access to health care and other supportive services than they need.
The study, which was done by the Washington, D.C.-based National Alliance to End Homelessness, also found that nearly half a million veterans were homeless at some time during 2006, and as many as 66,000 of those vets were chronically without shelter. And while veterans comprise only 11 percent of the American population, they make up one of every four of the nation's homeless...
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