Marion is site of Veterans Day activities

The 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month. That is Veterans Day.

On Saturday, in Marion, beginning with a parade at 11 a.m. on Main Street, the county will pay tribute to and honor its veterans. It is fitting that the celebration continues, especially when our nation is at war. It is a somber opportunity to remember the sacrifice of others for us. If you are one who has sacrificied, or is sacrificing, we thank you.

World War I, known as “The Great War,” ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars,“ www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp says.

President Woodrow Wilson made that first proclamation of Armistice Day. According to the Web site, the “original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m.“

Time passed and President Eisenhower, in 1954, signed HR7786, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day. The 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans,“ the Web site about the day’s history goes on to say, thus Nov. 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

As the site says, Veterans Day: “A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.“