Today is Armistice Day, known as Veterans Day in the United States-but in the Commonwealth it is the day set aside to remember the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.
Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918, as the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. (Note that “at the 11th hour”, refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am.)
The reason I make the distinction is that for the nations of Europe-the First World War represents the literal slaughter of a generation-and the lost opportunities that came with that sacrifice. 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded-worldwide. ( US casualties are included in that number). It is important to put some context on that number-in 1900 the population of the world was only 1.6 billion-so it represents a HUGE dent in the world population.
So while it is important to honor and thank the veterans of the United States ( of which I am a member of that number)-I think it is equally important to remember the real tragedy that was the wars of twentieth century-and World Wars I and II in particular.
If you ever want to see something particularly jarring-go to Australia some time and see their war memorial. It is in Canberra and it is a humbling experience. Australia’s war casualties in the First World War represented 13.1% of their adult male population at the time. 13%! Put in contemporary terms it would be the equivelant to the loss of 19,500,000 men from our population of about 150,000,000 men. 1 in every eight or nine men on a city block dead or injured.
THAT’s the magnitude of the First World War-and I think we Americans tend to forget that sometimes. It was a tragedy for the United States and a huge tragedy for the world in general. The conflicts we fight today are direct descendants of the pre-conditions that were set by the first World War.
