VETERANS DAY - 2014

[Warph]

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War." Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars.

The Great War & Armistice Day

Though the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, November 11 remained in the public imagination as the date that marked the end of the Great War. In November 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. The day's observation included parades and public gatherings, as well as a brief pause in business activities at 11 a.m. On November 11, 1921, an unidentified American soldier killed in the war was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.; the U.S. Congress had declared the day a legal federal holiday in honor of all those who participated in the war. On the same day, unidentified soldiers were laid to rest at Westminster Abbey in London and at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Did You Know?

Red poppies, a symbol of World War I (from their appearance in the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae), are sold in Canada and the United Kingdom on Remembrance Day to raise money for veterans or worn in the lapel as a tribute.

On June 4, 1926, Congress passed a resolution that the "recurring anniversary of [November 11, 1918] should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations" and that the president should issue an annual proclamation calling for the observance of Armistice Day. By that time, 27 state legislatures had made November 11 a legal holiday. An act approved May 13, 1938 made November 11 a legal Federal holiday, "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'" In actuality, there are no U.S. national holidays because the states retain the right to designate their own, and the government can only designate holidays for federal employees and for the District of Columbia. In practice, however, states almost always follow the federal lead.

From Armistice Day to Veterans Day

American effort during World War II (1941-1945) saw the greatest mobilization of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force in the nation's history (more than 16 million people); some 5.7 million more served in the Korean War (1950 to 1953). In 1954, after lobbying efforts by veterans' service organizations, the 83rd U.S. Congress amended the 1938 act that had made Armistice Day a holiday, striking the word "Armistice" in favor of "Veterans." President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the legislation on June 1, 1954. From then on, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

The next development in the story of Veterans Day unfolded in 1968, when Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which sought to ensure three-day weekends for federal employees–and encourage tourism and travel–by celebrating four national holidays (Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day) on Mondays.

The observation of Veterans Day was set as the fourth Monday in October. The first Veterans Day under the new law was Monday, October 25, 1971; confusion ensued, as many states disapproved of this change, and continued to observe the holiday on its original date. In 1975, after it became evident that the actual date of Veterans Day carried historical and patriotic significance to many Americans, President Gerald R. Ford signed a new law returning the observation of Veterans Day to November 11th beginning in 1978. If November 11 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the federal government observes the holiday on the previous Friday or following Monday, respectively.
Celebrating Veterans Day Around the World

Britain, France, Australia and Canada also commemorate the veterans of World Wars I and II on or near November 11th: Canada has Remembrance Day, while Britain has Remembrance Sunday (the second Sunday of November). In Europe, Britain and the Commonwealth countries it is common to observe two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. every November 11.

In the United States, an official wreath-laying ceremony is held each Veterans Day at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery, while parades and other celebrations are held in states around the country. 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 servicemembers 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.

[Warph]

"For those who served in battle, Veteran's Day is about moments."

For Jim Williams, it begins on May 5, 1965, when his platoon in the 173rd Airborne Brigade lands in Tan Son Nhut Air Base outside Saigon. It was the first U.S. Army ground combat unit in Vietnam.

For William "Chuck" Rollins, it was the day of the funeral of his cousin, William Brown, in February 1969. Brown had been killed in combat in Vietnam. Rollins was on his way to a second tour.

For Mike "Doc" Spresser, it was Jan. 14, 1970, the day one of his best friends, Charlie Turner, died in his arms.

The three made their yearly pilgrimage to the Vietnam Memorial on Tuesday along with thousands of other veterans and civilians who took to the National Mall to remember the men and women who have served in the military. Hundreds of thousands more were expected for the Concert for Valor tonight, featuring some of the biggest names in music, including Bruce Springsteen.

Vietnam War veteran Joe Caballero takes a photograph during a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall on the National Mall in Washington, DC, November 11, 2014, on Veteran's Day.

But the big names and live television mean little to those who fought.

Williams is a gregarious man of 70. His upbeat, wisecracking manner belie the horror he experienced as a 20-year-old private from Brooklyn. He was part of the regiment whose job it was to clear the towns of the Viet Cong, the guerrilla force that fought South Vietnam and the U.S.

"We were the first boots on the ground," he says.

He remembers things by specific dates. July 14. 1965: the first time he saw a member of the Viet Cong and he was so terrified that he soiled himself.

"It was a kid," he says. "He saw me, I saw him. I ducked, he ducked. When I looked back up, he was gone."

Oct. 7, 1965: When the U.S. military dropped the chemical Agent Orange on a field where the guerrilla fighters were hiding. The smoke engulfed him and his nearby platoon, the effects of which he says he felt 45 years later.

Jan. 1, 1966: The day the Viet Cong dropped bombs on a rice field, killing dozens in his unit. He suffered a head wound that allowed him to leave the military.

June 3, 2010: When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which doctors say may have been caused by his exposure to Agent Orange.

For the longest time, he wouldn't go to any Veterans Day observances. But 10 years ago, he met Rollins while he was trying to get benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

They became instant friends. It was the shared experiences -- knowing the boredom of war punctuated by flashes of utter terror, how to heat rations with C-4 explosives and the stink of a rubber tree when it oozes its gummy sap.

So Williams asked Rollins if he'd like to go with him to The Wall. They've done it every year since.

"It's because of all those moments," says Rollins, a retired Army colonel.

Spresser has a different moment of friendship to recognize on Veterans Day.

He doesn't remember the date of Turner's death, just the month and the year. And he doesn't want to talk about the circumstances.

But he talks about how he, an 18-year-old white kid from Philadelphia, became fast friends with an 18-year-old black Southerner from Texas. The first day they met, they joked that if anything happened to them, Turner would get to keep Spresser's rain poncho or Spresser would get Turner's spiffy Hush Puppies.

They knew each other for seven months. Turner's death when a bomb exploded near their camp in the Demilitarized Zone that divided North and South Vietnam was one of dozens in their unit. Spresser, who earned the nickname in Vietnam that he's carried the rest of his life, was the only medic for 103 men.

During another night of particularly fierce fighting, he says, he was tending to 70 of those men by himself.

But it was Turner's death that haunted him for 44 years. When the bomb landed, it took off part of Turner's head, but his eyes kept looking at Spresser, he says.

"They were pleading with me, 'Doc, do something,' " Spresser says, tearing up. "I held Charlie in my arms. There was nothing I could do."

Spresser served from 1969 to 1970. He returned a changed and troubled man.

He's a recovering alcoholic. He was married three times before he found "an angel," his wife, Marian, who's been with him for more than 20 years.

He suffers from post-traumatic stress. It's taken decades of therapy, medical treatment and an unbending faith in God, and he's still not healed, he says, but he's better.

As proof, he did something on Monday night that he'd never been able to do in years of visiting The Wall. He went to Panel 14, Line 35, and touched the name of Clarence Turner III. He left him a letter that read, "Charlie, I'm so sorry. I did the best I could."

Forty-four years of guilt were lifted off his shoulders.