Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Veterans Day 2014

Interrupting NaNoWriMo ...


In 1918, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the formal hostilities of World War I ended.

In the US, we call the recognition of that event Veterans Day. Other parts of the world may call it Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. Not to be confused with Memorial Day which celebrates the sacrifice of those who died in the service of their country, Veterans Day honors all people who have served.

In four years, it will have been 100 years since that armistice was signed. World War I (of course, the I was added later) was also called the Great War and was supposed to be the war to end all wars. How sad that it wasn't able to achieve it, that the 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians who died were not the last to suffer death at war, that the generation of veterans who first experienced chemical warfare was not the last.

It can be hard to get your head around the sheer number of people who died. You can click here to view pictures of the ceramic flowers being displayed at the Tower of London to recognize the human sacrifice--one for each of the hundreds of thousands of British soldiers who died in that war.

The last flower will be placed today.

As a veteran in a family of veterans, I have always been conscious of this day. But I am especially tender today since I'm working on a book whose main character is a wounded veteran.

No one goes to war and returns unscathed. No family of a veteran, having coped and agonized and sacrificed, is unscarred.

With all my heart, I thank those who have accepted the calls of their countries.

I would encourage everyone to reach out and find some way to help them, and please remember. Not all will wear their scars where everyone can see.

Project New Hope

AND
For our active duty troops, there's Authors Supporting Our Troops. The event is going on right now. If you would like to send books to our troops, you can contact Armand Rosamilia on Facebook for where to send the signed books. 

12 comments:

  1. Well said, Donna. Many in my family are Veterans, including my father, who served in Vietnam. We will be flying the American flag today with pride and honor.
    Sadly, as long as good and evil both occupy this Earth, we will have war.
    The last flower was placed? I need to go look at the end result.

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    Replies
    1. Things like that always drive home the number of people.

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  2. we have a National Holiday here too! Serbia lost 1 million people in WW1 out of 4 million people that we had in total at that time.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I saw those staggering numbers when I was researching for that post. It bobbles the mind.

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    2. it was really horrid, especially since we went into the war already exhausted and devastated from the Balkan wars against the Ottomans, and then the WW2 later on totally annihilated us. Most of our villages and towns were left without any males for many decades or forever

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  3. Can't forget or doomed to repeat, even though the nutjobs of the world don't make it easy. Anyone who serves deserves all the respect and more.

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    1. Perfect description for some people, Pat: nutjobs.

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  4. This was perfect, Donna. Loved this… Veterans Day always makes me teary-eyed. <3

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  5. Nicely stated, Donna. And thank you and your family for your service.

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  6. My father was in the Korean War. My foster brother was a Navy Seal in Vietnam. My husband's grandfather was one of the first 4 frogmen (later Seals) for the USA in WWII. It was his job to make the beachheads safe for landers by cutting wire and defusing mines and fighting. Every one of those soldiers were deeply affected by their experiences in ways we civilians can't fully understand. Thank you so much for serving selflessly in the military, Donna. Your post was beautiful.

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  7. My dad and two of my Uncles serves in WW II. Another Uncle served in Korea. My brother served in Nam. They were all Army. My husband served for 20 years in the Air Force. I'm incredibly proud of them all.

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