VETERANS DAY 2008
The Flower of Remembrance
In Flanders Fields
John McCrae, 1915.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Military Songs Inspire Troops, Preserve Tradition
Each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces maintains its own military marching band to
inspire troops and preserve tradition. Though they now serve ceremonial functions,
these bands were once an integral element on the battlefield. To increase the morale
and courage of the men, bands would march in front of formations as they entered
battle. Yet, as the number of musicians dwindled, commanders delegated marching
bands to the rear of the formation, behind the combat-ready troops. Today, bands are
no longer involved in armed conflict, but continue to inspire troops through song or
hymn that represent the individual histories and traditions of America’s Armed Forces.
“The Army Goes Rolling Along”
Before “The Caisson Song” was adopted as the official
tune of the U.S. Army, it was the proud anthem of the
U.S. Field Artillery Corps. During a long march in the
Philippines, Lieutenant Edmund L. “Snitz” Gruber
overheard an officer roar “Come on! Keep ‘em Rolling!”
Gruber, whose relative, Franz, composed the Christmas
Song “Silent Night,” was suddenly inspired and that night
wrote the now-famous melody. Fellow soldiers helped
with the lyrics and in almost no time, all six regiments of
the U.S. Field Artillery had adopted “The Caisson Song”
as a popular marching tune.
During the last days of World War I, senior artillery leaders wanted to make “The
Caisson Song” official, and mistaking the piece as composed during the Civil War,
allowed bandmaster John Phillip Sousa to incorporate most of the song into his own
composition “The U.S. Field Artillery March.” The song became a chart-topper during
World War I, selling 750,000 copies. Discovering Gruber actually wrote the melody, an
embarrassed but innocent Sousa made certain Gruber received his royalties. In 1948,
the Army held a nationwide contest to find an official song. After four years of
unsuccessful results and nearly 800 submitted scores, the Adjunct General’s office
decided to recycle “The Caisson Song.” H.W. Arberg arranged the U.S. Army song,
naming it “The Army Goes Rolling Along.” The Army copyrighted the song in 1956.
The “Marines’ Hymn”
An unlikely venue hosted the debut of a tune many now
associate with the Marines’ Hymn. In the city of Paris,
France, Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) wrote and
conducted opera and opera-bouffe (comic and farcical
opera). Most believe the melody of the Marines’ Hymn
was, in fact, taken from an aria in “Genevieve de
Brabant” composed by Offenbach. This tune was
morphed to fit the now famous lines “From the Halls of
Montezuma, To the Shores of Tripoli.”
According to tradition, an officer wrote the first verse of
the Hymn on duty in the Mexican War (1846-1848).
Meant to highlight the various campaigns of the Marines, the unknown author edited the
words from the Marines’ colors and added them to Offenbach’s melody. Continuing the
custom, every campaign the Marines participate in gives birth to a new, unofficial verse.
Copyright ownership of the Marines’ Hymn was vested to the U.S. Marine Corps in
1991, although its first use as the Marines’ official anthem was in 1929.
U.S. Navy “Anchors Aweigh”
In an attempt to write a catchy tune to rally the Naval
Academy’s football team, “Anchors Aweigh” was born.
Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmerman, the U.S. Navy
bandmaster from 1887 to 1916, started the practice of
composing a march for each graduating class.
However, none of these tunes really caught on. In 1906,
Zimmerman was approached by Midshipman Alfred Hart
Miles to write a “piece of music that would be inspiring,
one with swing to it so it could be used as a football
marching song, and one that would live forever.”
Together, Zimmerman and Hart composed the tune and
lyrics that became “Anchors Aweigh,” dedicated to the class of 1907. The new fight
song indeed propelled Navy to a win that year over Army. The march was subsequently
adopted as the official Navy song and continues to inspire classes of Naval Academy
Midshipmen.
“The U.S. Air Force”
In 1938, the Army Air Corps decided they needed an
official song. Liberty Magazine sponsored a contest
whereby 757 scores were submitted. Of those, one
written by Robert Crawford was selected by a committee
of Air Corps wives and officially introduced at the
Cleveland Air Races in 1939. Crawford himself sang it
in its first public performance. When the Army Air Corps
became a separate branch of the military in 1947,
Crawford’s march changed names from “The Army Air
Corps” to the “U.S. Air Force.”
Since that time, the first line of “Nothing’ll Stop the U.S.
Air Force” became a motto and tradition. On July 30, 1971, the original first page
submitted by Robert Crawford in 1939 was carried into space in the Apollo 15 “Falcon”
and broadcast to the world by Major Alfred W. Worden, who had a tape recorder aboard
the “Endeavor” command module. The “All-Air Force” crew arranged to take the sheet
music with them as a tribute to Crawford and the U.S. Air Force.
The U.S. Coast Guard and “Semper Paratus”
The Coast Guard’s motto of Semper Paratus or “always
ready” was officially recognized in 1910, and thenceforth
appeared on the ensign. However, no one really knows
how Semper Paratus was chosen as the Coast Guard’s
“phrase” and watchword prior to its formal acceptance.
Whatever the case, in 1922, Captain Francis S. Van
Boskerck was inspired to write an official U.S. Coast
Guard song that would rival “Anchor’s Aweigh” or “The
Caisson Song.” While in the cabin of his cutter
Yamacraw, which was stationed in Savannah, Ga.,
Boskerck put pen to paper and the lyrics for “Semper
Paratus” were born. Five years later, while stationed in the Aleutian Islands, Boskerck
composed the accompanying music on a dilapidated old piano in Unalaska, Alaska. The
geographically diverse origins of this piece are fittingly illustrated in the song’s first line
“From Aztec shore to Arctic Zone, To Europe and Far East…” Semper Paratus remains
the proud standard and song of the United States Coast Guard.
We plant seeds in our children by teaching by example. Below are some additional fun educational tools.
GRIEF, LOSS & HEALING
Gold Star Wives
Washington Liaison Office
5510 Columbia Pike
Suite 205
Arlington, VA 22204
Ph: 1-888-479-9788
Email: gswives2@aol.com
"Gold Star Wives is a support organization for spouses of those killed in the military on active duty or from service connected disabilities. GSW provides information on benefits and works to obtain additional benefits on a local and national level."
No Greater Love
1750 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 783-4665
URL: www.ngl.org/
"...dedicated to providing annual programs of remembrance, friendship and care for families who lost a loved one in the service of our country or by an act of terrorism."
The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Inc. (TAPS )
2001 S Street, N.W., #300
Washington D.C., 20009
Ph: 1-800-959-TAPS (8277)
Email: info@taps.org
URL: www.taps.org/"
...a national non-profit organization made up of, and providing services to, all those who have lost a loved one while serving in the Armed Forces."
THE ORIGINS OF VETERANS DAY
In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. This site, on a hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, D.C., became the focal point of reverence for America’s veterans.
Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as “Armistice Day.”
Armistice Day officially received its name in America in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later by similar Congressional action. If the idealistic hope had been realized that World War I was “the War to end all wars,” November 11 might still be called Armistice Day. But only a few years after the holiday was proclaimed, war broke out in Europe. Sixteen and one-half million Americans took part. Four hundred seven thousand of them died in service, more than 292,000 in battle.
Armistice Day Changed To Honor All Veterans
The first celebration using the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham , Alabama , in 1947. Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran, organized "National Veterans Day," which included a parade and other festivities, to honor all veterans. The event was held on November 11, then designated Armistice Day. Later, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill that would change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. In 1954, Congress passed the bill that President Eisenhower signed proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day. Raymond Weeks received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Reagan in November 1982. Weeks' local parade and ceremonies are now an annual event celebrated nationwide.
On Memorial Day 1958, two more unidentified American war dead were brought from overseas and interred in the plaza beside the unknown soldier of World War I. One was killed in World War II, the other in the Korean War. In 1984, an unknown serviceman from the Vietnam War was placed alongside the others. The remains from Vietnam were exhumed May 14, 1998 , identified as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, and removed for burial. To honor these men, symbolic of all Americans who gave their lives in all wars, an Army honor guard, the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), keeps day and night vigil.
A law passed in 1968 changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
National Ceremonies Held at Arlington National Cemetery
The focal point for official, national ceremonies for Veterans Day continues to be the memorial amphitheater built around the Tomb of the Unknowns. At 11 a.m. on November 11, a combined color guard representing all military services executes “Present Arms” at the tomb. The nation’s tribute to its war dead is symbolized by the laying of a presidential wreath. The bugler plays “taps.” The rest of the ceremony takes place in the amphitheater.
Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington and elsewhere are coordinated by the President’s Veterans Day National Committee. Chaired by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the committee represents national veterans organizations.
Governors of many states and U.S. territories appoint Veterans Day chairpersons who, in cooperation with the National Committee and the Department of Defense, arrange and promote local ceremonies.
Who is a Veteran?
Veterans are people who served in the military (U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard) in times of war or peace.
Who do you know who is a veteran?
Maybe it is your mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother, cousin, neighbor, or teacher. You can be very proud of them. Many have given much to keep us safe and free.
Who is a Veteran?
Veterans are people who served in the military (U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard) in times of war or peace.
Who do you know who is a veteran?
Maybe it is your mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother, cousin, neighbor, or teacher. You can be very proud of them. Many have given much to keep us safe and free.
DONATIONS FOR THE WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT
Your generous, tax deductible donation to the Wounded Warrior Project enables us to help the thousands of wounded warriors returning home from the current conflicts and to provide assistance to their families. As the number of wounded steadily increases, it is easy to see how the needs of these brave individuals also increase. You may donate either online or by filling out our donate form and mailing it to:
Wounded Warrior Project
P.O. Box 758517
Topeka, KS 66675-8517
Fax: (904) 296-7347
Please consider sponsoring a backpack for a wounded warrior: A donation of $99 or more purchases a filled backpack for one soldier with much-needed comfort items such as toiletries and other personal goods. When you purchase the backpack, you will be given an opportunity to write a message of thanks and hope to the soldiers who receive the backpacks, showing them that their fellow citizens care about them and appreciate their bravery and courage. Your message will be placed on a luggage tag that will be attached to the backpack.
