First of all, we would like to give thanks to our brave American soldiers who have served and protected our country! Today, we celebrate Veterans Day which is originally known as Armistice Day, a day to acknowledge our military soldiers who served in the United States Armed Forces. It goes with other holidays like Armistice Day and Remembrance Day which were held the same day to celebrate the end of World War I back in 1918.
soldiers via CTD
100 years ago, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson addressed an inspirational message to his countrymen expressing what he felt during the War. Do you still remember his message? Well, if not, the message goes with this:
ADDRESS TO FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN
The White House, November 11, 1919.
A year ago today our enemies laid down their arms in accordance with an armistice which rendered them impotent to renew hostilities, and gave to the world an assured opportunity to reconstruct its shattered order and to work out in peace a new and juster set of international relations. The soldiers and people of the European Allies had fought and endured for more than four years to uphold the barrier of civilization against the aggressions of the armed force. We ourselves had been in the conflict something more than a year and a half.
With splendid forgetfulness of mere personal concerns, we remodeled our industries, concentrated our financial resources, increased our agricultural output, and assembled a great army, so that at the last our power was a decisive factor in the victory. We were able to bring the vast resources, material and moral, of a great and free people to the assistance of our associates in Europe who had suffered and sacrificed without limit in the cause for which we fought.
Out of this victory there arose new possibilities of political freedom and economic concert. The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for high purposes, and the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquests which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of men.
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 nations.
WOODROW WILSON
Kudos to you our former President Woodrow Wilson!
Via YouTube.com by Screengrab
Today, as we celebrate Veterans Day, one of our best country artists, Toby Keith, renders an inspirational song “American Soldiers” in commemoration of this day.
“American Soldiers”
It is a deep country ballad penned and popularized by Toby Keith. This track was released in November 2003 as a single from his album Shock’n’Y’all. Upon the release of the song, “American Soldiers” entered country charts and peaked at number 1 on the US Billboard Hot Country Song chart. This track stayed on the country charts for 4 weeks.
Via YouTube.com by Screengrab
According to Toby Keith, “American Soldiers” is meant for the families who supported our troops. He said,
“For all the times that I get to meet the troops on these USO tours, and since Courtesy of Red, White, and Blue, the P.O.W.s and the families that have come and brought me back my old CD covers and stuff that they had and shown how much support they had (for me), this is my support for the American fighting men and women.”
Listen to Toby Keith’s Song “American Soldier” here: