Quiz:
What happened on 11-11 at 11 a.m.? Hint: The year was 1918.
What happened on the “Day that will live in Infamy”? When was it?
Do you remember what happened on 9-11-2001? Where it happened?
Answers:
- 11-11-18 was once known as “Armistice Day” and almost ended World War 1, the “war to end all wars.” Not every soldier “got the word” and even have the generals had inked the agreement, soldiers continued to be killed.
“The day of infamy” was how Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) labeled December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Hickham field. It is suspected that FDR knew the Japanese attack was imminent, but elected not to warn U.S. assets in the Islands so that Congress would support a declaration of war against the Axis (Germany, Italy, and Japan).
On September 11, 2001 Muslim terrorists commandeered four commercial jet planes. Two were flown into the Twin Towers in New York City; one was flown into the Pentagon in Arlington County, VA, and one, thanks to passengers’ bravery, was crashed into a Somerset County, PA field.
- Never mind that the FBI, due to internal turf wars, failed to prevent the highjackings. About 3,000 men, women, and children died on 9-11; more later. 9-11 had a HIGHER fatality rate then Pearl Harbor.
I’ve often wonder what became of the paper poppies the ladies of the American Legion Auxiliary. In Flanders fields where poppies grow . . .
Veterans organizations stick flags on or near graves of soldiers . The flags are later collected for next year. God and the soldier we adore, in times of danger, not before ...
Citizens born in the mid 1930s might Remember the Maine from history classes. The USS Maine, a cruiser, was sunk in Havana Harbor to officially start the Spanish-American War. According to Wikipedia, “The cause of her sinking remains a subject of debate."
There are other dates that, unless they have a personal connection, are forgotten by most Americans.
How many people remember
- Timothy James McVeigh and the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995,
Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing that killed 241 US service personnel on October 23, 1983.
Granted, these were not as “dramatic” as Dec. 7 or Sep. 11 where the death toll was about 3,000 people.
Unless you live in Oklahoma City OK, it is unlikely that April 19 has any significance. As for Lebanon, the current civil war is the about the only time the tiny country makes the news.
Memorial Day, Veterans’ (nee’ Armistice) Day, Pearl Harbor — all are days when Americans are expected to take a moment to reflect on history. As a number of people1 have said in words similar, if we don’t know our history, we are going to repeat it.
Rather than take a moment to recall the deaths of thousands of individuals in defense of America, the days are holidays for bar-be-cuing, getting away from wherever to someplace else. If we pass a cemetery, do we even give a thought to those monuments with flags?
Human nature.
A holiday is a holiday.
But should Veterans’ Day be treated the same as the Fourth of July? Is Memorial Day the same as Flag Day?
On the same token, do we give thanks on Thanksgiving — and to whom or what? Or is it just another day to over-eat?
It is easy to forget WHY the holiday was initiated, especially ones before we were born.
Still, with the Internet available to almost everyone, might looking up the history of these days be appropriate?
December 7 and September 11 should be more than just ringing a bell and reciting names. Memorial Day and Armistice Day should be more than a picnic; take time to remember those who fought this country’s wars; those who failed to return and those who did but wounded in ways that changed their lives forever.
Having a picnic or day at the (wherever) is fine, but take time out to remember WHY the date is marked on the calendar.
Sources
Remember the Maine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1)
1. Edmund Burke, 1729-1797; Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, 1863-1952
PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.
Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.
Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.
No comments:
Post a Comment