The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month: Honoring Veterans Day
The bulk of the fighting in World War I ended in 1918 when an armistice took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month -- i.e., at 11 a.m.
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The bulk of the fighting in World War I ended in 1918 when an armistice took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month -- i.e., at 11 a.m. on November 11th. One year later, President Wilson declared November 11th to be "Armistice Day" with these 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…By the late 1930s Armistice Day had become a formal national holiday, and after World War II not surprisingly it evolved into "Veterans Day" in order to spread the focus to all of our veterans rather than just those hailing from the Great War. When 11 a.m. arrives for you today, please do take a moment to reflect on and appreciate the services and sacrifice of our veterans.
Robert (Bobby) Chesney is the Dean of the University of Texas School of Law, where he also holds the James A. Baker III Chair in the Rule of Law and World Affairs at UT. He is known internationally for his scholarship relating both to cybersecurity and national security. He is a co-founder of Lawfare, the nation’s leading online source for analysis of national security legal issues, and he co-hosts the popular show The National Security Law Podcast.
