Veterans Day

Sunday, November 11th, is Veterans Day, with a legal holiday being declared on Monday, November 12th. For us here at STCC, that means we have Monday off and that also means that Tuesday, November 13th, we will be following a Monday schedule.

I pulled a little background on what exactly Veterans Day is all about from the Department of Veteran Affairs Web site: "World War I – known as ... “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars."

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m. This year, Springfield will have a great parade starting from STCC at 11:00 a.m., moving down State Street and ending at City Hall. Featured in the parade will be Central High School Air Force Jr. RAC, the Cathedral High School Band, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, the Springfield Melha Shriners (with their miniature cars), and Veteran of the Year, Robert D. Sweeney. See you there!