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Veterans Day Color Guard, 2005. At the War Memorial, East 7th & Watchung. |
Plainfielders will observe VETERANS DAY this morning at the Senior Center at 400 East Front Street. The ceremonies begin with a parade of the colors between Roosevelt Avenue and Richmond Street before the 11 AM observance at the Senior Center, which will be conducted by the Veterans Alliance, composed of American Legion Post 219, VFW Memorial Post 7474, Retired Veterans Local No. 51, the Womens Auxiliary of Post 219, and the Military Order of the Cooties.
ARMISTICE DAY became the international observation of the cessation of World War I hostilities at 11 AM on the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918 -- after protracted and complicated negotiations.
Over the years, large parades and well-attended civic ceremonies were held in countless towns and cities across the country. The President led national ceremonies at Arlington National Ceremony. An example is President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1941 Armistice Day address, on the eve of World War II.
Armistice Day was traditionally observed throughout the community by the complete cessation of activity for two minutes of silent observation at 11 AM -- which made it possible to include all those who were unable to attend the ceremonies because of work, school or other circumstances. In many places that tradition continues, though not, sadly, in Plainfield.
In 1954, following a countrywide grassroots campaign, Congress designated the day as VETERANS DAY, making it an official federal holiday.
As a result, the day has come to focus more on honoring the service and contributions of VETERANS, as distinct from its original purpose as a DAY OF REMEMBRANCE for those who died in World War I. (In Canada and other British Commonwealth countries, the day is still known as Remembrance Day.)
MEMORIAL DAY, which had its origins in remembering the Civil War dead, came to be the focus of remembrance of all who had died in wars past.
Plainfield Observes Veterans Day
Today | 11 AM
Ceremony will be preceded by a parade of the colors
along East Front Street from Roosevelt Avenue to Richmond Street
Plainfield Senior Center
400 East Front Street
-- Dan Damon [follow]
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1 comments:
God bless all men and women that have and continue to serve our country. We owe a debt of thanks today and always.
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