Hello everyone, hope you remembered to set your clocks back an hour. Our days are still warm enough to ride and we can still ride with the chiller nights as long as we gear up for it. Please stay safe, watch out for others, and keep your knees in the breeze as much as possible.
Veterans Day Is November 11th, Legally, two minutes of silence is recommended to be observed at 2:11pm Eastern Standard Time. Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable). It coincides with other holidays including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day which are celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954
Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day, a U.S. public holiday in May. Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day honors those who had died while in military service. Another military holiday that also occurs in May, Armed Forces Day, honors those currently serving in the U.S. military. Additionally, Women Veterans Day is recognized by a growing number of U.S. states that specifically honor women who have served in the U.S. military.
On November 11, 1919, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson issued a message to his countrymen on the first Armistice Day, in which he expressed what he felt the day meant to Americans:
ADDRESS TO FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN The White House, November 11, 1919.
(Quote) A year ago today our enemies laid down their arms in accordance with an armistice which rendered them impotent to renew hostilities and gave to the world an assured opportunity to reconstruct its shattered order and to work out in peace a new and more just set of international relations. The soldiers and people of the European Allies had fought and endured for more than four years to uphold the barrier of civilization against the aggressions of armed force. We ourselves had been in the conflict something more than a year and a half. With splendid forgetfulness of mere personal concerns, we remodeled our industries, concentrated our financial resources, increased our agricultural output, and assembled a great army, so that at the last our power was a decisive factor in the victory. We were able to bring the vast resources, material and moral, of a great and free people to the assistance of our associates in Europe who had suffered and sacrificed without limit in the cause for which we fought. Out of this victory there arose new possibilities of political freedom and economic concert. The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for high purposes, and the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquests which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of men. To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.
WOODROW WILSON. (Un-quote) Because it is a federal holiday, some American workers and many students have Veterans Day off from work or school. When Veterans Day falls on a Saturday then either Saturday or the preceding Friday may be designated as the holiday, whereas if it falls on a Sunday it is typically observed on the following Monday. When it falls on the weekend many private companies offer it as a floating holiday where employees can choose some other day. Non-essential federal government offices are closed. No mail is delivered. All federal workers are paid for the holiday; those who are required to work on the holiday sometimes receive holiday pay for that day in addition to their wages.
Useless Facts:
1. It Wasn’t Always Called Veterans Day. Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day, and it was meant to be a day that celebrated the victory of the Allied forces during World War I.
2. Americans Aren’t the Only Ones Who Celebrate November 11th
Many countries around the world also celebrate November 11th (but as Remembrance Day rather than Veterans Day or Armistice Day).
3. Though Germany was the head of the Central Powers during WWI, a lot of time has passed since then. Germany doesn’t celebrate Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or Veterans Day as many of us do. They instead practice something known as Volkstrauertag, which has also been called the National Day of Mourning, as well as silent day.
4. The Red Poppy Has a Purpose (and a Poem) The WWI battlefield was a place where no life could flourish or even survive. After the fighting ceased and the bombings stopped, however, the ravaged land began to heal as nature took its course. During the healing process, red poppies bloomed and gave new life to the death-tainted landscape of WWI.
THE POAM: Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae wrote a heart-wrenching poem, In Flanders Fields, depicting the visage of the war-torn, poppy-filled battlefields.
(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.)
5. There’s a Reason It Isn’t Spelled with an Apostrophe. For those of you who failed your primary school English courses, the apostrophe would be the little curly mark between the N and the S, denoting possession. Veterans Day is spelled as it is for a very specific reason. Veterans Day is not a day that belongs to Veterans or is owned by Veterans in any capacity. It is a day for everyone, regardless of if they’ve served or not, to reflect on the sacrifices of people who have served. The day may be dedicated to Veterans, but Veterans do not own it.
6. There Are More Women Veterans Than You Think. At ease, men! Women make up approximately10%of the Veteran population. By 2025, that number could reach 12%.
7. You’re Most Likely to Find a Woman Vet in Maryland. As many as17%of the women in Maryland are Vets.
8. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act Changed the Observed Date. Congress signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Actin 1968, and it went into effect in 1971. This created a three-day weekend of four holidays: Memorial Day, Washington’s Birthday, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day. However, it also changed the observed date of Veterans Day from November 11th to the fourth Monday in October. This sparked outrage among the population, and the date was changed back for the following years celebrations.
9. There Is a National Moment of Silence for Veterans Day.
10. The Last U.S. WWI Vet Died in 2011. The last living U.S. WWI Veteran is not so far removed from us. Only a decade ago, Frank Buckles passed away, making him the final surviving U.S. WWI Vet. Frank enlisted in the U.S. Army all the way back in 1917 when he was only 16 years old. He drove ambulances and motorcycles in Europe close to the front lines. He also served in WWII, where he was captured by Japanese forces and had to spend three years as a civilian prisoner in the Philippines.
11. The War Didn’t Actually End on 11/11/1918. You’ve surely heard about the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. While this was when the armistice, calling for a (temporary) cessation of hostilities, was signed, it was not the official end of the War. The ending of World War I is officially marked by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in France on June 28, 1919. However, we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11th because that date marked the beginning of the end of WWI.
Local Events:
1. Speedway In Lights Nov. 18th to Jan. 7th
2. Bikers & Bowling at Holiday Lanes 6pm -9pm Nov. 18th
3. Grown & Sexy Johnson City VFW Nov 26th Cook out 11am to 4pm sale from cook-out go to help a child in need - then Dress To Impress Party at 7pm NO TENNIS SHOES, T-SHIRTS, HOODIES, OR BALL CAPS. Pre-sale $15, at the door $30 VIP $100 for more info: 423-557-7801
4. Winterfest Art Show Nov. 20th to Dec. 4th Sycamore Shoals
5. Bristol Christmas Parade 5pm Dec. 1st
6. Jonesboro Christmas Parade 7pm Dec. 2nd
7. Johnson City Christmas Parade 13:30am Dec. 3rd
8. Christmas at the Carter Mansion Dec, 3rd and 4th
9. Holiday Market 8am Pavilion Founder’s Park Dec. 10th
10. Elizabethton Christmas Parade 6pm Dec. 10th
Rides:
1. Bikers 39th Annual Toy Run 1927 Irvin Cobb Drive Paducah KY Nov. 19th
2. Toys For Tots Ride 11am Dec. 3rd Starts at Greenville VFW rolls to Johnson City VFW