As Tuesday the 11th approached, many veterans were getting ready to celebrate. Although not widely celebrated, Veterans’ Day is a national holiday because it honors our friends and family who fought for our nation. This marks the beginning of Veterans’ Day, which is on November 11th. This past week, the Triton Voice reached out to some Veterans as well as students who want to join the military in the near future.
According to the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, “World War I – known at the time 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.”
Another description on the department website states, “The holiday we know today as Veterans’ Day was originally known as Armistice Day, created to mark the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. After World War II and the Korean War, the name was changed to Veterans’ Day in 1954 to honor all U.S. veterans, no matter when or where they served.”
Today, the holiday recognizes members of every branch of the military—the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the observance of this day was clearly “a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens.” Because of this, on September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), officially returning the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978 after it had been changed for a bit.
Here at Triton, we do not lack veterans, from staff to alumni and various adults in our community who have served. The Pew Research Center states there are “more than 18 million living veterans” in the U.S., about 6% of the adult population. These brave individuals inspire younger students to follow and join the military. Even if there is no war in action, the military is considered quite a noble act to many.
Senior Christian Murray has already been through the paperwork and is set to begin training in July after he finishes high school. When asked what branch he’d like to join and why he wanted to join, he answered, “The Navy, specifically a Master of Arms,… The benefits and discipline are really good. As well as free healthcare.” On the other side of the spectrum, we have our staff who served. Craig Kemp, a vocal music teacher for high school, and starting this year, middle school, as well as the MS chorus Official, was a member of the Army and was stationed in Iraq for a year, as well as Kuwait for another year, eventually leading to six full years of service after serving four years in Western New York. When asked why he joined, he responded that his grandfather and father had served. Both Kemp and Murray agreed on the definition of Veterans’ Day, though, “A day to remember members of the military who served.” Oh, and “Free Applebees!” according to Mr. Kemp.
Richard Keys, a new substitute at Triton Regional High School and a Veteran, has plans to bring veterans to our school to educate students in the future. Keys said he was in “The United States Navy. I was in Orlando, Florida; Pensacola, Florida; Norford, Virginia; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Oxford, Mississippi. I went to University for 2 years at a Navy ROTC school, majoring in Computer Science, then I was sent to San Diego, California, Long Beach, California, for 5 years, then to Monterrey, California, and ended up getting my masters in Computer Science. I was also then in Newport, Rhode Island, and then I moved back to San Diego.” This was all in 23 years of this man’s life! Travel and experiences are the best part of this decision to many. But thanks to the world right now, it is your choice to make.
