Veteran's Day: In Flanders Field . . .

Advertisement

Allen Matkins Law Firm

Today is Veterans Day.  The date commemorates the ending of the First World War on November 11, 1918 at 11:00 a.m.  The following year, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first “Armistice Day”, as it was then known:

Advertisement

“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 the nations.”

A custom arose among allies of wearing poppies in remembrance of the soldiers who were killed in the Great War.  Why poppies? The association was inspired by a very popular poem written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. The poem opens with these lines:

Advertisement

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,

Advertisement

John McCrae did not live to see the end of the war. He died of an illness in France in 1918.

It has been 100 years since the start of the First World War in July 1914.  The United States did not declare war until April, 1917.  England is commemorating the centennial by installing 888,246 brilliant red ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London.  The BBC has published these stunning pictures.

More than 4 million American soldiers served in the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.  The last of these Doughboys, Corporal Frank Buckles, died in 2011 at the age 0f 110.

Advertisement

California is currently home to 1,851,570 veterans, including 1,387,510 who are wartime veterans.

Today is Veterans Day.  Let’s all remember and honor the service of the men and women who have served our country.

Advertisement

ARTICLE BY

Keith Paul Bishop

OF

Advertisement
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP

Published by

National Law Forum

A group of in-house attorneys developed the National Law Review on-line edition to create an easy to use resource to capture legal trends and news as they first start to emerge. We were looking for a better way to organize, vet and easily retrieve all the updates that were being sent to us on a daily basis.In the process, we’ve become one of the highest volume business law websites in the U.S. Today, the National Law Review’s seasoned editors screen and classify breaking news and analysis authored by recognized legal professionals and our own journalists. There is no log in to access the database and new articles are added hourly. The National Law Review revolutionized legal publication in 1888 and this cutting-edge tradition continues today.