Veterans Day 1999

"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, Whose coffin is draped by the flag, and Who allows the protester to burn the flag." Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC A Guadalcanal Veteran of WWII, 11th Marines, and the Chaplain for the 1st Marine Division Association

In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The "war to end all wars" was over.

November 11 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States, to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during the war in order to ensure a lasting peace. Congress voted Armistice Day a legal holiday in 1938, twenty years after the war ended. But Americans realized that the previous war would not be the last one. World War II began the following year, and nations great and small again participated in a bloody struggle. After the Second World War, Armistice Day continued to be observed on November 11. Soon after, Congress passed a bill introduced by a Kansas congressman renaming the national holiday to Veterans' Day.

Don't forget to sign the new Veterans board which is permanently displayed in "I" corridor just outside the Weinberg Lobby.

Many thanks to the Veterans Day Committee and the ORNL Values Committee who have planned and implemented the Veterans Day activities. Thanks also to the many Veterans who contributed information, pictures, and profiles.

Pictures of ORNL's Veterans Day Event
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This site was created by T. J. Honeycutt for the ORNL Workforce Diversity Office in cooperation with the Veterans Day Committee