For those of us whose parents and relatives and friends who joined the military during difficult times – and those who gave their lives for their service — today is a time for reflection.
I know that some holidays – Memorial Day, July 4, Veterans Day – have been turned into a commercial free-for-all. But not for all of us.
My father purchased poppy pins every year when I was a kid, and members of my family wore them on Veterans Day. The poppy image at the top of this post is a bit different because it is almost a century old, but the poppy always has to be red. The original name for this holiday in the United States was Armistice Day, when World War I was concluded with an armistice, in the 11th day of the 11th month, and the 11thhour. In other countries involved in WWI, it is called Remembrance Day.
Before are links to stories about Veterans Day, beginning with a New York Times piece about Armistice Day being retitled Veterans Day, a story on the History channel website, and a CPR piece about a project the Library of Congress is hoping to collect a story from every veteran, including those in Colorado. Oh, and a link to the Veterans Arts Council website, based at the Veterans of Foreign Wars VFW Post 1, the first post. It started in 1899.
https://www.history.com/news/world-war-i-poppy-remembrance-symbol-veterans-da
https://vfwpost1.org/veterans-arts-council/
Chandler in Denver 