Veterans Day

Keira Dooley

Last Friday, November 11th, was Veterans Day! Veterans Day is a federal holiday that honors United States Armed Forces veterans. While this is a national holiday, not many people know its history. While World War I officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th, 1919, the actual fighting stopped seven months earlier with an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations, which went into effect on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month. That same month, President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. He said the celebration 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.” Armistice Day was originally a day to honor veterans from World War I, but after World War II, the government replaced the word “armistice” with “veterans.”

This year Peninsula High School celebrated this holiday with an assembly on Wednesday, November 9th. After second period, students headed to the gym and sat with their class. Each grade was assigned a different color to wear; Freshmen wore camo, Sophomores wore blue, Juniors wore white, and Seniors wore red. The assembly opened with a display by the color guard, and following this was the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by senior Thomas Byram. Following this excellent performance, Master Chief Robert Stockton gave a short speech about his service. When he finished, there was a moving video concerning Veterans Day and its importance. Following this video was a short presentation to honor the veterans here at PHS. The staff members honored were Gary Griffin, Darrell Hood, Robert Stockton, Sandy Fox, Christopher Neil, and Kip Berndt. Following this presentation, there was a Miracle Minute to raise money for Honor Flight, and cans went around for students to donate. After the minute was over, Commander Hood gave some closing remarks and dismissed everyone to their homerooms. 

Once in homeroom, students wrote notes to Veterans. These notes will also go to the Honor Flight organization and will go to veterans on their way to Washington DC. Some of you may be wondering what Honor Flight is. Well, Honor Flight is a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor America’s veterans for the sacrifices they have made. The website for the Puget Sound Honor Flight organization states that their mission is “To transport our heroes on “One Last Mission” – a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at the memorials built in their honor. This trip is free to the veteran, and made possible solely through individual donations and corporate support.” Our veterans have made countless sacrifices for this country and our freedom. Without them, we would be living in a very different world. So this Veterans Day, be sure to thank a veteran. The rights we have today would not exist without their service and sacrifices. 

Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. (2006, March 20). Veterans Affairs. Go to VA.gov. Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp 

Puget sound honor flight. Puget Sound Honor Flight. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://pugetsoundhonorflight.org/