Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: They served with honor

Friday, Nov. 8, 2002 | 9:19 a.m.

NEXT MONDAY, November 11, 2002, will be the day set aside to honor the men and women who answered the call of their country during war and peace.

When I was a youngster, this day was called Armistice Day to honor the dead of World War I. We would all remain silent for one minute at 11 a.m. on this day because the guns of that "war to end all wars" went silent at that time on Nov. 11, 1918. Yes, the Western Front separating the Allies and the German forces went silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

In 1945, after World War II, we continued to call it Armistice Day, but we also remembered those who fought and died in that "war to end all wars." Then came the bloody Korean conflict, which started in 1950 and ended in 1953. This war truly ended only with an armistice and today, almost 50 years later, there still has not been a signed peace treaty between the combatants.

The year after full-scaled combat ceased in Korea, our Congress passed a bill and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law declaring Nov. 11 as Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans who served their country.

Many of us now reserve May 30, Memorial Day, to recall those who died fighting for our country. This day, oftentimes called Decoration Day because we decorate the graves of our dead, was originally set aside to honor those who fell during the Civil War. Many Americans also used Memorial Day to decorate the graves of all their dead, both veteran and non-veteran.

We shouldn't forget that large numbers of Americans didn't trot down to recruiting offices to sign up for WWII. Our nation was slowly coming out of the Great Depression. Thousands of farmers were in debt and many had already lost their homes to the banks. I know, because our family had the bank foreclose on our farm in Minnesota and we found another run-down farm in Wisconsin which put food on the table with not much left over for anything fancy.

Life was even tougher for millions of Americans without jobs in big cities. Many were traveling the country, riding the rails, seeking work and food for their families. When our country helped Great Britain in its struggle for life against Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime and we began to prepare for war, the job market became a bit brighter.

Suddenly, following the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, we were in the middle of a bloody war. It was only natural that many Americans now wanted to pay their debts and feed their families. Farms in those days often counted on large families to work the fields and get products to market. Soldiering for $21 to $30 a month wasn't the answer that Americans were seeking.

Even before Pearl Harbor, a military draft was in effect and many young men and boys were in uniform. Now even greater numbers were called to the colors and many, because of poor diets, failed their physicals. Older men and women, along with those not physically fit, were left behind to run the farms and factories to produce the food and goods needed to win the war.

The men, not always happy, answered the draft call and didn't run to Canada to escape as a few did 25 years later during the Vietnam War. Canada was already in the war. National Guard units weren't a safe place to hide because entire divisions went overseas and directly into combat.

We fought and won WWII with what was truly a citizen military force. Farms and homes were often saved from bank foreclosures with insurance money being paid for the lives of men who died in combat. Yes, they bought the farms and homes with their lives.

Ever since the call to arms in 1775, the Americans who have responded to the needs of their country we call veterans. Those who answered the call for Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, and several scrapes in between, have also earned that proud title. Service in uniform has given millions of Americans the opportunity to hold their heads high and know they did their best when needed.