11th Hour of 11th Day of 11th Month, 1918

That was when the Armistice was signed, ending the first world war. So brutal, so widespread was the violence of that war, it was widely believed that civilized humans would never again engage in war. Thus, World War I was called the war to end all wars. November 11 was remembered as Armistice Day and became a national holiday.

A scant twenty-one years later, on September 8, 1939, then again on May 27, 1941, President Roosevelt declared a State Of Emergency because Europe was once again at war. On December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan attacked American soil in Hawaii. Another World War was underway for Americans. President Truman declared an end to hostilities of this second world war on December 31, 1946.

Three and one-half years later, on June 25, 1950, North Korea launched an attack on American and Korean forces in south Korea, and we were at war again.

When President-Elect Dwight Eisenhower engineered an armistice in 1953, the observance of November 11 as "Armistice Day" seemed a little outdated. The following year, it was officially decided to designate November 11 as Veteran's Day, to recognize all veterans of all American wars.

Going back to 1918 and just ten days before that famous armistice, my uncle, Prentice (Prince) Bradley was killed in France. U.S. Army Captain Clifford Davidson, commanding Co. A, 359th Infantry, wrote my grandfather:

I don't know if my uncle's remains were ever re-interred, but it is evident that in 1918, if a soldier received serious injuries, he just died and was buried by his comrades.

Things have changed. Thanks to today's advances in medicine, many seriously injured soldiers survive. The result means a great number of "Wounded Warriors".

While we honor all veterans on November 11, today we feel especially indebted to those young men and women suffering both visible and invisible war wounds. The sight of a young man with an artificial leg, or a despairing homeless man wearing a Viet Nam Veteran cap is heartbreaking.

The death of my uncle ten days before the end of a war, or the sight of these wounded warriors always makes me ask "Why?". What value ensued from killing my uncle when, for all practical purposes, the objectives of that war had already been passed? What value ensued from the exploding I.E.D. that took the young soldier's leg? Why must nations go to war?

Perhaps, some day, Iraq or Afghanistan, or The War On Terror will be remembered as The War That Ended All Wars. Perhaps, some day, all veterans of all wars will have died of old age. But, I hope America will always observe the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in remembrance of those American veterans who brought about that final end of war.