This Memorial Day had a very different feel to it as many of the normal events honoring those veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country were cancelled or modified for social distancing, but hopefully people still remembered the reason for this holiday and the fallen heroes like Private Steve S. Curry, who was killed in action October 26, 1918, north of Verdun in France.
Fallen Soldier
Today in the United States, Veterans Day is celebrated to honor all those who have served in the Armed Forces. The origins of the holiday dates back to Armistice Day, when President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 proclaimed November 11 as a remembrance of the armistice calling for a ceasefire for World War I the year before.
Since the ‘war to end all wars’ didn’t end all war, President Eisenhower signed a bill into law in 1954 to change the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor all the veterans, not just from WWI. And while Memorial Day celebrates men and women who died while serving, Veterans Day celebrates the service of all military veterans.
But for me on this Veterans Day, a special remembrance to all the veterans who did not died in service but who are no longer with us and whose family have heard the playing of taps for their loved one this past year.
Veterans Day
On this Memorial Day, in all the normal fun holiday activities planned, I hope people remember the real reason for the holiday; a holiday to remember the men and women who died while serving in our country’s armed forces, like this soldier who died just a few weeks before the end of World War I.
Remembering the Fallen Soldier
