In 1955, a veteran explains Veterans Day

It is altogether fitting that a grateful nation should set aside one day each year to pay special homage to the veterans who have fought so valiantly in all of its wars to preserve our heritage of freedom.

Traditionally, since the signing of the Armistice at 11 o’clock on the morning of Nov. 11, 1918, ending the hostilities of World War I, Nov. 11 has been known as Armistice Day, a day given recognition by an act of Congress.

More recent legislation by our government expanded the significance of that day by changing the name from Armistice to Veterans Day, a day of commemoration of those who sacrificed to preserve our nation and of rededication to the task of achieving an enduring peace.

Today we are commemorating the armistice that ended the first world war, we are giving thanks for V-E day that ended the European phase of the second world war, V-J Day which ended the war in the Pacific and for the cessation of hostilities in the Korean conflict

We have Memorial Day, which Is dedicated to those who made the supreme sacrifice in all our wars. On Veterans Day we spend a minute in silent meditation to our departed comrades of all wars. Our primary purpose in this day, however, is to remember the living veteran — those disabled, at home and in hospitals and to renew our pledge of aid and comfort to the widows and orphans of those who have gone on before.

In the waging of war we moved forward with a unity of purpose which made us strong, forgetting pettiness, egotism and pride. Our hearts beat in tune with those of other nations fighting for freedom and for the dignity and opportunity of man. In peace, as in war, there is need for unity of purpose and together we can move toward a brighter tomorrow.

As a fighting nation we developed spartan virtues. In the cauldron of war we reached new heights of nobility of character which can be lost if we consider peace merely as a stopping place rather than as the beginning of a new era.

Out of blood and sweat we learned of purpose, sacrifice, tolerance, bravery and discipline. These are the solid foundation stones upon which a great nation is built. In peace we must also cultivate these virtues.

Let us honor those who in public service seek not how much they may secure from the nation but  how much they can give. Let us honor those who devote their lives to that education which will lead our children on to live and laugh and learn and love, as we have only dreamed of doing. Let us honor those men who carry into ordinary affairs of life noble idealism and a sincere capacity for self-devotion. Let us translate the devotion of war into a devotion of peace. Let us will to live as well as die for our country.

Courage is one of the virtues born of war — the courage of individuals in the face of danger and the courage of nations to protect the weak and punish the aggressor.

There is bravery to be shown in peace as well. We may recapture the courage which turned the wilderness into cities, that bound men together under one government. Today, in time of peace we can use the ennobling virtues of war and put behind us its ugliness and suffering. In peace we shall go forward together to scale new heights of achievement in unity of purpose, in sacrifice for the common good, in tolerance for those different in faiths and creeds; in bravery to fight for social and economic gains, and in the discipline of good citizenship. We shall move forward in the sight of God as a strong nation in a peaceful world.

We must not be unmindful of the conclusions of other peoples with whom we have joined to make a world that will preserve the peace. This is the higher order of discipline. Let us remember that old saying, “All that glitters is not gold.” May we not be misled by those who smile in an effort to lead our nation into a state of complacency which in the future may be to our disadvantage, not being fully prepared to defend ourselves.

Let us hope also that we shall not be misled by those among us who advocate our participation in a one world movement but rather that we shall be united as one great nation under the flag of the United States of America.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.