This past Monday was Veterans Day. Each November 11, our nation celebrates Veterans Day. Veterans Day originated as Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. At the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. The United States Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and November 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day--a common misunderstanding, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Memorial Day (the fourth Monday in May) honors American service members who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle, while Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans--living or dead--but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime. For my thirteenth week of college (Nov. 11-17), my Bruce Springsteen “Song of the Week – College Edition” is “No Surrender from the Born in the USA album - “We busted out of class, had to get away from those fools. We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school. Tonight, I hear the neighborhood drummer sound. I can feel my heart begin to pound. You say youre tired and you just want to close your eyes and follow your dreams down. We made a promise, we swore wed always remember. No retreat, baby, no surrender. Like soldiers in the winters night with a vow to defend. No retreat, baby, no surrender. Now, young faces grow sad and old and hearts of fire grow cold. We swore blood brothers against the wind, Im ready to grow young again, and hear your sisters voice calling us home across the open yards. Well, maybe, we could cut someplace of our own with these drums and these guitars. We made a promise, we swore wed always remember. No retreat, baby, no surrender. Blood brothers in the stormy night with a vow to defend, no retreat, baby, no surrender. Now on the street tonight the lights grow dim, the walls of my room are closing in. Theres a war outside still raging and you say, “It aint ours anymore to win.” I want to sleep beneath peaceful skies in my lovers bed, with a wide open country in my eyes, and these romantic dreams in my head.”
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 04:50:41 +0000
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