The other day I asked Cameron:
?What?s up??
His response:
?What?s NOT up??
Now that is not a response that I would consider unusual from someone in my family, but let?s face it, Cameron is four and theoretically his life shouldn?t be mashugana yet.
I guess he has the gene.
But Cameron is correct?what?s NOT up?
We just completed the first full week of November! The clocks have been turned back and where I was in western Pennsylvania last weekend, it snowed! The Holiday Season with all its happiness and hecticness (no I didn?t make up that word?..could be a blog though..) will be upon us in no time.
But first we can?t forget Veteran?s Day.
Tuesday November 11th is Veteran?s Day.
According to the Department of Veteran?s Affairs, during World War I an armistice or temporary cessation of hostilities went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of that year 1918 and generally became accepted as the end of the war that they called ?the war to end all wars.?
In November 1919, then President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the first commemoration of Armistice Day and said ?in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country?s service and with gratitude for the victory?.?
On May 13, 1938, the 11th of November, then still known as Armistice Day was officially made a legal holiday but on June 1, 1954 after having gone through World War II and the Korean conflict, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
The Uniform Holiday Bill passed in 1968, was intended to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. Though I don?t remember this, apparently the first Veterans Day under this new law in 1971 created a bunch of confusion since they decided to observe it on October 25th. Since it became apparent that the commemoration of Veteran?s Day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of Americans, beginning in 1978 President Gerald R. Ford returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11 as it should have been. So now, Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week it falls on and allows the attention to be focused on the important purpose of the day which is a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
And now that you know all that, we also know that since that day in 1954 when it became a day to honor American veterans of all wars, the world has produced many more American veterans of many other conflicts.
Let?s remember to not forget any of them on Tuesday especially.
And this year, the organization behind The Concert for Valor, being held on the Mall and featuring one of my Jersey Shore contemporaries, Bruce Springsteen; will hope to remind us to remember Vets all year long and to support them with opportunities, jobs, donations, or a just plain ?thank you for serving.?
So there you have it, what?s not up is right!
If you want to support the Onward Veteran?s fund on the Concert for Valor website here is a link.
And another way you can support the Vets is to participate in IBC Veteran?s Day 5K in Fairfax Corner on Sunday which supports Team Red, White, and Blue; here is the link for more info.
There is also the 2014 Bolen Park Veteran?s Day 5K in Leesburg.
See Potomac River Running?s race website for more info or to register.
And finally, but most importantly, if you are an American veteran of a foreign war;
?Thank you for serving?
Have a great weekend!
Curt Christiansen
Chief Operating Officer
Sport and Spine Rehab
