Today is a national holiday honoring all veterans, living and dead, who served our country in war and in peace. There are usually flags and parades on this day, but many do not know that it wasn’t a national holiday until 1938. It started out as Armistice Day, commemorating the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, signaling the end of World War I. In 1954, President Eisenhower changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans’ Day.
If you do not have a member of your family who has served or is still serving, you may just be happy to have a day off. But in times like we are in, when there are still a lot of Americans serving in harm’s way, it is important to remember the stories of real people , both men and women, who have served. In my immediate family, no one had served in the military until my nephew signed up a year or two ago. Of course our first worry was that he would be sent somewhere dangerous. But my nephew wasn’t worried about that. He wanted to serve his country and hopefully gain a skill that only the military could offer him. He is now a full fledged Marine and happy where he is, and our family is very proud of him.
This year where I live, our choir will be paying tribute to Veterans by singing the Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force fight songs. They are not masterpieces of either lyrics or tunes, and they are filled with somewhat gruesome images of killing and shooting. But they are inspiring to the many who have served or will serve, so we will sing them with gusto. It would be great if we also sang “Give Peace a Chance”, but that is not on the program!
The Marines’ Hymn references the “Halls of Montezuma.” The reference is to Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire…which also happens to be modern-day Mexico City. In 1847, the U.S. and Mexico were engaged in a bit of a war and it wasn’t going well for the Mexicans. The “shores of Tripoli” refers to the Battle of Derne in the First Barbara War in 1805. Here is a singalong for you, to commemorate this day:
Linda, I remember all of those songs from my childhood. We sang with gusto in elementary school. And, likewise, I remember the 60s when those same songs made us feel duped by the powers that be in leading us down the wrong path. “Give Peace a Chance” replaced them for the young and idealistic. Today, with maturity, I can hear all of them without resentment (maybe a little thinking about manipulation from those who profit from war.) Like you, it would be nice to add “Give Peace a Chance” to any medley.
Thanks JoLynne! I feel the same way now.