The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Originally known as Armistice Day, the first Veterans Day was celebrated on November 11, 1938 – the twentieth anniversary of the effective end of World War I.  Starting in 1954 the scope of the holiday was expanded to commemorate all those who fought and served for the United States.

I don’t have any stirring essays in me, so my small tribute to our armed forces is a small collection of images portraying the history of American military conflict.  Thank you all for your service!

The Battle of Trenton (December 26, 1776) was a turning point in the American Revolution, as General George Washington led his demoralized troops across the Delaware River and captured 1,000 Hessian soldiers.  Washington and his soldiers followed up the surprise attack with another victory a week later in Princeton.

War of 1812 – The fabled British Royal Navy suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of the much younger and smaller U.S. Navy on August 19, 1812 when the USS Constitution bested the HMS Guerrriere after a 35-minute battle.  A year later the American defense of Fort McHenry in Baltimore inspired lawyer Francis Scott Key to compose the poem that became the basis for the “Star-Spangled Banner”.

The Mexican-American War was a politically contentious issue, although it did vastly increase both the size of the U.S. Army and the United States itself.  The Battle of Monterrey (September 21-24, 1846) was fought effectively to a stalemate, although a two-month armistice agreement signed between General Pedro de Ampudia (Mexico) and General Zachary Taylor (U.S.) saw the Mexican Army surrender the city of Monterrey.

The Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862) was the first major engagement of the Civil War to take place on Northern soil. Around 23,000 soldiers died that day, making it the single bloodiest day in American combat history. This photo shows President Abraham Lincoln visiting the battlefield on October 3.

The Spanish-American War lasted for just over 100 days (April-August 1898) and is remembered mainly for two things – the controversial destruction of the USS Maine (which became a pretext for the war) and the rise to fame of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.  Roosevelt wave of popularity carried him first to the governership of New York (elected 1898) and then the White House (elected as William McKinley’s Vice President in 1900).

Despite a declared policy of isolationism during World War I, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson could no longer ignore German aggression and Congress declared war on April 6, 1917.  The Germans were convinced that it would take at least 18 months before we could muster enough forces to make an impact, and hoped to win the war in the interim.  By the summer of 1918, 10,000 Americans were arriving in France daily.  The above image of American forces in the Argonne Forest was taken on September 26, 1918.

World War II – Our finest hour.  Not much else I can say about this that hasn’t been said by better.  Here, African-American troops of a field artillery battery set up a 155mm howitzer in France (June 28, 1944).

A Sherman tank fires on an enemy bunker – May 11, 1952.  It’s difficult to understand how a war that resulted in so many casualties was so easily forgotten, but that seems to be the case for the Korean War (June 1950-July 1953).  Although the Koreans and Chinese suffered the most casualties, it is still important to remember that more than 36,000 Americans died and nearly 100,000 were wounded.

Sadder still is that after all those deaths, the war is technically not even over.  North and South Korea have never signed a peace treaty, and have been under a cease fire agreement for more than half a century.

I’ve spent a lot of time learning about the background and conduct of the Vietnam War, as well as debating whether we should have fought it in the first place.  But for at least one day I will put that aside to remember the nearly 60,000 U.S. dead, 2,000 missing, and 300,000+ wounded (one of whom is shown in this 1965 photograph).

In many ways, the Gulf War (August 1990-February 1991) is still being fought, as many of the veterans from that war still suffer today.

Speaking of which…

Today the eyes of the nation are on our fighting men and women serving in the Middle East, specifically Iraq and Afghanistan.  However much our feelings and opinions on the ongoing wars may vary, I think we can all hope that ultimately our soldiers can return home safely.

Thank you, veterans!