Veterans Day:
100 Years & Counting
BY JILL DAVIS
Source: www.va.gov This might be a good time
to remind your children
or grandchildren that contrary
to what they may think, Veterans
Day isn’t just another excuse
for department store super sales.
Veterans Day is, unfortunately, a
holiday that doesn’t get as much
attention for its true meaning as
it deserves: A day of tribute to all
Americans who have served in the
armed forces.
For those who may not know, the
holiday’s genesis goes back to the
end of World War I in 1918. The
U.S. entered the war late, in April,
1917, yet still suffered over 300,000
killed or wounded soldiers in less
than 18 months. Internationally,
the magnitude of the war was
unprecedented at the time, and
it became known as “the war to
end all wars.” On Nov.11, 1918,
an armistice between the Allied
nations and Germany went into
effect at precisely 11:00 a.m.
One hundred years ago in 1919,
on the first anniversary of the truce,
President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed
Nov. 11 “Armistice Day” to
pay tribute to “the heroism of those
who died in the country’s service…”
during the war. In 1938, Congress
declared Armistice Day a national
holiday, and it kept its name until
1954—at least on a national basis.
Backtrack to 1945 and the end
of World War II. If the casualties
of World War I were tragic, those
of World War II were horrific: In
all, World War II saw more than
1 million US soldiers killed or
wounded in the line of duty. Now
“Armistice Day” didn’t seem inclusive
enough, at least not to a certain
Mr. Raymond Weeks. Who?
Raymond Weeks was an Alabama
native, a Navy veteran of World War
II and the man behind the plan
to expand the Nov. 11 holiday to
include all veterans who served in
any war or in peacetime.
He started things off by organizing
the very first “Veterans Day”
(his term) parade in Birmingham,
Alabama, in 1947 and worked with
US Rep. Edward Rees of Kansas
to officially change Nov. 11 from
Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
It took persistence and time, but
President Eisenhower finally signed
the bill for the name change in 1954.
Dubbed the “Father of Veterans
Day,” Weeks was awarded the
Presidential Citizens Medal in 1982
by President Reagan in recognition
of his efforts.
Here at North Shore Towers,
a Salute to Veterans will be held
on November 11 at Towers on the
Green at 7:30. All NST veterans
are welcome to join in. Whether or
not you attend the event, we hope
you enjoy these interviews that
the North Shore Towers Courier
conducted with a few of our own
servicemen.
This Veterans Day, please take
a moment to thank them, and all
our veterans, for their service to our
country (and don’t forget to thank
Raymond Weeks too!).
MURRAY STADTMAUER
Captain, US Army
Murray served as a Chaplain in
the US Army from 1955 until 1990
in both active and reserve capacities.
He explains his lengthy service
Murray Stadtmauer
with this humorous anecdote:
“This month marks the 62nd
anniversary of my separation from
active duty in 1957. As I stood in the
Separation Center at Fort Chafee,
Arkansas, eager to leave, the First
Sergeant on duty slowly shuffled
through a mountain of papers.
Suddenly, he frowned, and I
expected trouble. In his Southern
drawl, he casually observed,
‘Chaplain, there’s a form here yo’al
didn’t sign.’
‘What’s that, Sarge?’
‘Oh, it’s about yo’all staying in
the Reserve in case of a national
emergency.’
The Sergeant looked up at me
expectantly--as if challenging my
patriotism.
I quickly blurted out, ‘Give me
that form, Sarge.’ And I signed with
a flourish as the Sergeant looked
on, smiling.
And lo and behold, as sure as
shooting, I got recalled no less than
four times during the Vietnam era.
And, naturally, I dutifully went each
time.
Damn that First Sergeant with
his Southern drawl. Or was it just
my Jewish paranoia that did it?”
Even after retirement, Murray
remained involved in the military,
serving as a VA Hospital Chaplain
14 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ November 2019
/www.va.gov
/www.va.gov
