Originally called Armistice Day, Nov. 11 was set aside to honor veterans of World War I. In its official resolution, Congress sought to set aside time to “commemorate with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through goodwill and mutual understanding between nations … with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.”
Originally called Armistice Day, Nov. 11 was set aside to honor veterans of World War I. In its official resolution, Congress sought to set aside time to “commemorate with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through goodwill and mutual understanding between nations … with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.”
When Operation Iraqi Freedom kicked off in 2003, I was an Army chaplain assigned to a battalion in the 3rd Infantry Division. We spent the first four days of the war in a convoy heading toward Baghdad.
One hundred years ago today, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, fighting in World War 1 came to an end. Kaiser Wilhelm had abdicated on the previous day, and the new government of Germany, eager for peace, immediately concluded an armistice agreement with the Allies.
