Today is Veterans Day and once again thousands of people will be lining up along Fifth Avenue for NYCs annual Veterans Day parade. According to Business Insider, this is the country's largest veterans parade in the nation.
Given the popularity of the parade nowadays, it is hard to believe that in the late 1980s, the parade, then produced by the American Legion, was almost cancelled for the first time in its long history. The reason - lack of interest! In fact, interest was so low that in a article published in the New York Times on November 10, 1995, Douglas Martin wrote that in "recent years, Veterans Day observations have become desultory at best, with spectators often limited to passers-by walking their dogs or heading out for a quart of milk." A group called the United War Veterans Council took over producing the parade in 1987 and it has once again grown a well attended event that honors America's veterans.
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| The Parade in 1995 |
Of course, the NYC parade isn't the happening. All over the country, communities are going to be staging their own parades to honor veterans, especially their local heroes. If one is being held in your area, I hope you will attend.
Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts and a World War II veteran, certainly knew the importance of honoring veterans. For years, he created a special Veterans Day strip to honor those combat veterans of WW2 embodied in Bill Mauldin's wartime strip Willie & Joe. The one below is from November 11, 1979.
Although in the United States, Veterans Day honors living veterans, it is also Remembrance Day in other countries like Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and Germany.
You can find some wonderful book recommendations for Remembrance Day at
PragmaticMom's website HERE
Mother Daughter & Son's website HERE
Jemine Pett's website HERE
So, please take a moment to think about those members of the Armed Forces who are no longer with us. I know I will.
In Memoriam
FCP 1955-2001
What a wonderful post. It is so important to be thankful for our veterans. I had no idea the parade was almost cancelled in the 1980s. Wow! I think it is wonderful that people in different countries are remembering and thinking of those who have defended their country.
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