(EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m turning this space over to a patriot today to honor all of our nation’s veterans. Richard Spencer is a Vietnam War veteran, whom I am proud to call friend. His encouragement is largely responsible for my taking the step of starting this blog after I retired, and he is the author of the Foreword to my “Why We Needed Trump” trilogy. )
REMEMBRANCE DAY: The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month
By Richard Spencer
Veterans Day is observed in the United States on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It was formerly known as Armistice Day and given its new name in 1954 at the end of the Korean War to honor all veterans. Veterans Day is observed with memorial ceremonies, salutes at military cemeteries, parades, and the wearing of Poppies.
This day was originally named Remembrance Day along with a separate Remembrance Sunday by the Commonwealth. To be in London for their celebration of those two days, for me, lives in memory. An ocean of Poppies abound, church bells ring, and the atmosphere is somber with thanks.
For the older veterans presently living in the US, throughout their twentieth-century military service and most of their civilian lives, they were actively involved with the containment of Communism. And, it was for good reason. Communism killed over 100,000,000 men, women, and children, not to mention the near 30,000,000 of its subjects that died in its often-aggressive wars and the rebellions it provoked. Communism was the great and evil story of the twentieth-century and at its zenith ruled a third of mankind. It seemed poised to spread indefinitely and then it collapsed like a house of cards. It had violated one of the basic tenets of civilization, “Thou shalt not kill.”
The opening of the twenty-first century has created a new generation of Veterans who are fighting a new set of people who are violating this same tenet of civilized people, “Thou shall not kill.” After the collapse of Communism many opined that the newly established world order would be forever peaceful. What could take its place to create another worldwide international conflict? The Invention of Peace by Michael Howard published in 2000 where Howard’s last thoughts in his essay are, “… although it is tempting to believe … a new and stable world order will come into being, we would be unwise to expect anything of the kind.”
Then, on September 11, 2001, came a direct attack upon our soil and our country entered into a worldwide conflict against Islamic/Fascist terrorism. As yet, we do not know where it will ultimately lead; we just know that we are up against an implacable enemy dedicated to the destruction of our way of life and that a new generation of veterans have engaged upon our country’s behalf. Public affirmation of our current volunteer military consistently measures near the 95% level and that is higher than any of our other national institutions. Veterans are America’s best friends.
American veterans have been bearing the brunt of many conflicts since before the Revolutionary War and all had a continuous ongoing and outpouring of “brotherly love” for one another and their units. That is now continuing for the new generation and poses an interesting but central question, “Why?” But, it is so complex and misunderstood that we have to look into antiquity to understand it. So, here is the complex answer and after hearing it one may want to revert to the simpler. It is equally as true.
The reasons, in my opinion, for our closeness as military veterans throughout our history revolves about two concepts: one important to the nation and the other important to those who served the nation in uniform.
The former, importance to the nation, is the common sense observation that escapes many of our citizens and political bodies of the country: that military organizations exist to win wars. Winning the nation’s wars is the military’s functional imperative. In fact, it is the only reason for a liberal society to maintain standing armies. Veterans were personally a part of that important national organization dedicated to preserving freedom and protecting our citizens. They were proud to be so and to do so. And, they remain so.
The latter, importance to the veterans, is traced to antiquity. Aristotle conceived it and the Greeks called it “phillia.” It is broadly defined as “brotherly love” and it is the glue of the military ethos, then and now. It is that bond formed among disparate individuals who may have nothing in common but facing the dangerous unknowns of military duty. Veterans constantly performed personal acts to help one another that were inherently good. That was the major critical factor for military success during some of our country’s most trying times.
“Phillia” exists to this day as the foundation for all military organizations throughout the world. The many reunions of veterans that take place every year is the result of an ethos first noted by the ancient Greeks. “Phillia” never leaves the individual and the individual never leaves the military. That ethos, “brotherly love,” remains to the last. It was the unselfish nature of service to the nation for each in the uniform of our country’s military forces that once again brings us together for celebration, 11Nov19, to embrace America’s Exceptionalism.
Veterans Day is a time of remembrance that the older generation along with the newer generation commemorate with their families and friends. It is truly a day of deep thought as to the realities that created our Nation as a democratic republic and how to protect it for our progeny. At the exact hour of 11:00 AM on November 11, many throughout our nation will be saluting our nation’s Flag wearing remembrance Poppies in honor of those who gave their last breath in securing the freedom that our living brethren so enjoy.
Veterans slowly fade away as do all good citizen soldiers with the knowledge that they helped secure a better and safer life for their families, the nation, and the world. They were not heroes; they were just ordinary citizens from all walks of the American life dedicated to the preservation and the good will of their beloved country. Veterans and their families can stand proudly knowing that they did their duty and honored their country without rancor during some of its most troubled and dangerous times. They ask: “What more could we have done?”
This lack of enduring Peace leads to a more modern version of Thucydides (471 BC-400 BC) initial opining about Peace (” … peace is an armistice in a war that is continually going on …”) to : That Peace is simply the interlude between Wars; and, that Peace is merely an invention of the West that is so complex it has been beyond humanity’s reach. Unfortunately, that has been the history of the world: War over Peace is a sad but true recognition of reality. The only exception has been that democracies tend to choose Peace with one another, never War.
Richard L. Spencer, Ph.D.
LtCol USAF Ret.
Lewes, DE
Thank you for your service, sir, and your impressive Foreword in Frank’s great books. Thank you, as well, for the quote from Thucydides that reminds us that peace is simply an illusion. Sad to say, there have always been wars and there will always be wars. Bless the brave hearts that have fought them for the noblest of purposes! Bless those who bound and continue to bind the wounds: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual! Bless the innocent men, women and children, caught in war’s web, whose lives were lost or forever horribly changed! And may that perfect model of phillia continue to remind each of us; “Blessed be the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God”!
An excellent description of this honorable day and why veterans put themselves in harms way facing possible death. I agree with every sentence, except the last one. I wish he had said Constitutional Republic instead of Democracy – The Russian, Chinese and Cuban revolutions were examples of democracies that always end with tyrants in control.
God Bless his overall message…………. and Nancy McGungale’s comment.
I agree with Tumbleweed, I should have used Constitutional Republic. Thank you. RLS