New technology made World War I worse than anything before. There were tanks, long-range artillery, grenades, machine guns, bombs, and airplanes. Germany had the submarine or U-boat which threatened passenger ships, shipping and warships. Germany sunk eight U. S. ships. Although President Woodrow Wilson, wanted America to remain neutral, he realized that was no longer possible. He went before Congress on April 2, 1917 and declared, “The day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood…for the principles that gave her birth and happiness… God helping her, she can do no other.’ The Germans think America is not prepared for war but in a single year more than one million men are drafted into the army, trained, and sent overseas. U. S. forces make the difference in the Allies’ cause and the war ends the following year. In 1918, the war ended on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at eleven o’clock a.m. President Wilson issued a proclamation eulogizing fallen Allied soldiers on that day one year later . Armistice Day became a holiday in the United States, France, Great Britain, and Canada. In 1954 it was changed to Veterans Day because it was necessary to include other wars and involve the living as well as the dead.

Veterans of Foreign Wars or VFW was organized in Columbus, Ohio in 1899 by veterans of the Spanish-American War. The American Legion was founded in Paris, France in 1919 by soldiers of WWI.

An article written by Chaplain Lt. Col. Douglas A. Etter, The American Legion Magazine , November 2007 discusses his eighteen months in Iraq while serving with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Some of the wounds were horrific but all were life-changing. Combat experience is unlike anything we have known. There are severe temperature drops. It was 135 degrees in July and August but only 29 degrees in January. Soldiers gave noble sacrifice, disciplined commitment, and honor. It was necessary to keep emotions in constant check while serving his country but when he returned home people thought he was distant and withdrawn. Back home he was overwhelmed by choices, choices he didn’t have in Iraq. Soldiers are excited about returning home but they are also afraid of the long-term effects; physically, emotionally, spiritually. He asks they be shown patience, understanding and support.

President Calvin Coolidge said, “The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.”

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