THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Armistice Day,
Veterans' Day--Nov. 11
On the eleventh hour of the
eleventh day of
the eleventh month in 1918 in the
You may have read that “The
Great War”
officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles, signed
President Woodrow Wilson of the
In reading some of the early
proclamations
for Armistice Day, Congress and the President urged that the national
holiday
be observed with “thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to
perpetuate
peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.”
When General Dwight D.
Eisenhower, himself
a veteran of World War II, was president, Public Law 380 was passed on
June 1, 1954,
declaring that November 11 become not only the memorable Armistice Day
commemorating the end of World War I, but Veterans Day, honoring
American
veterans of all wars. On
Another significant milestone
happened in
American history. On
President Warren G. Harding
presided at
memorial services on the dedication day of
Since that day in 1921, three
other unknown
soldiers from World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War have been
interred west
of the sarcophagus, their graves marked with white marble slabs.
In 1930, the perpetual military
guard was
set up to patrol the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is a unique honor
to be
chosen for this assignment. Guards must pledge to abstinence, and
cannot
disgrace the uniform they wear by swearing or any sort of immorality.
They take
their duties as seriously and somberly as any soldier preparing for
battle.
Their 21 steps in formation are representative of a 21 gun salute. The
gun
carried by a guard is always away from the tomb. A 21 second pause
comes with
each about-face after each 21 pace march is completed. Guards are
changed every
thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. They chose to
serve
when urged not to do so as Hurricane Isabelle threatened
To veterans, we salute and honor
you. To
those of us who are not veterans, we can only imagine the price you
paid for
the freedoms we enjoy. With deepest gratitude, we thank you.
c2005 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Nov. 10, 2005 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA. Reprinted
by permission. All rights reserved.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Updated August 6,
2009
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