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Highlands Today

Armistice Day

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Betty Lou Nagy

Published: November 3, 2007

Eighty six years ago, Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1921 (11th month, 11th day, 11th hour,) the Unknown Soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington. The Tomb bears the inscription "Here rest in honored glory an American soldier known only but to God."

Congress later directed an unknown soldier from each of the three wars; W.W.II, Korean War and Vietnam, be buried near or beside the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The W.W.II and Korean soldiers were buried on Memorial Day in 1958 in marble crypts at the head of the tomb, and the Unknown Soldier from Vietnam was buried between them. Members of the Honor Guard Company of the 1st Battle Group, 3rd Infantry, Fort Myers, Va. keeps a sentry on duty at all times at the tomb. The sentry is changed every hour during the day and about every two hours at night.

In May of 1922, the first Poppy was sold in remembrance of all the soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom. Since then, this valiant effort has raised millions of dollars to benefit disabled and other veterans in need. A soldier's battle is never won, we won a lease on liberty, not a deed to it. The least we can do now, on the anniversary of the Armistice, is listen with grateful hearts to the recalled deeds of these ordinary boys. We honor their sacrifices as a most precious legacy.

Veterans Day is a special day for the VFW members. Unlike Memorial Day, it is a time to remember all veterans and their sacrifices. It should not be a day of sadness, but a time of pride and reflection on what veterans have at the base of each flagpole on an official government installation is a box buried in concrete. This box contains one saber, a .38-caliber pistol, and a box of matches. In the event the enemy overtakes the last government installation, the survivor is to defend the flag with the saber and pistol, and burn the flag with the matches so the enemy cannot capture it. There should be no guy wires on a flagpole, it must be free standing.

Betty Lou Nagy
LAVFW Americanism Chairwoman

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