Veterans Day Nov. 11, 2009
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Today is a national holiday to honor those who are veterans of any war that the U.S. has engaged in. It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.) (Source: Wikipedia) Wikipedia also notes that the spelling has been spelled Veteran’s Day and Veterans’ Day, but that the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling. (This was new to me.)
The picture above was one I took when we were traveling a couple of weeks ago. The plaques were surrounded by something called Burning Bushes—not their real name. At the nursery I was told that these plants are from Asia and take over the native plants, so they are called invasive. Their popularity stems fromt he fact that they turn red only in the Fall. Beautiful, but not ecologically sound.
One of the Burning Bush plants surrounding the Veterans Honor Roll
While I find war a horrific way to resolve problems, I find the death of so many soldiers, in all countries also horrific. But I also feel we need to honor those who have survived and returned home to start their lives again.
Below is a poem for a veteran who has died. It came from http://lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Veteransday It’s quite lovely, especially the line about the gentle autumn rain, so fitting today because it has been raining off and on in Philadelphia.
Take a few moments today to pay homage to all the veterans of all the wars.
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