VOICE ONE:
November Eleventh is Veterans Day in the United States. It honorsthe men and women of the American military forces. I’m MaryTillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. The history of Veterans Day is our reporttoday on the VOA Special English program, This is America.
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VOICE ONE:
More than nineteen-million men andwomen living in the United States have fought in the nation’s wars.Some of these people now are very old. Each day,one-thousand-five-hundred war veterans die.
The United States Congress did not want the nation to lose itschance to hear the veterans’ stories. So, in October two-thousand,lawmakers created the Veterans History Project.
The Library of Congress Folklife Center is gathering material forthis project. The center is asking war veterans for recordedhistories, letters, written memories, maps, photographs and homemovies. The Veterans History Project includes veterans of World WarsOne and Two. It also includes people who served in the conflicts inKorea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. All men and women who took partare invited to share their memories. This includes civilian helpers.In addition, all Americans are invited to talk to veterans who arefamily members and record their memories.
Now we will tell about some of these conflicts and the Americanswho fought in them.
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VOICE TWO:
World War One. At the time, it was called “the war to end allwars.” But, as everyone knows, other wars would be fought later.About two-million Americans served in Europe during World War One.More than one-hundred-sixteen-thousand of them were killed. Anothertwo-hundred-thirty-five-thousand were wounded.
The United States entered World War One in Nineteen-Seventeen.Its armed forces were very small. To prepare for war, the governmentordered every man between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one toreport for military duty.
VOICE ONE:
The men came from cities and farms. Some were rich. Some werepoor. There were doctors, lawyers, businessmen, professionalathletes and college students. Many were married. More thannine-and-one-half million men reported for duty in June,Nineteen-Seventeen. About six-hundred-thousand were chosen to serve.They were sent to military camps for training before going toFrance.
The following year, the government expanded the call to serve inthe military. It called on all men between the ages of eighteen andforty-five. More than thirteen-million reported for duty. The Armydid not have enough bases to train all the new soldiers. So, it usedmany colleges and universities as military training centers.
VOICE TWO:
The Navy and Marine Corps had about eighty-two-thousand men whenthe United States entered World War One. A year later, there werealmost three times that many sailors and Marines.
Many women joined the armed forces, too. Most women got officejobs at military bases in the United States. Some, however, went toFrance as nurses in battlefield hospitals. Their work made itpossible for more men to fight.
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VOICE ONE:
Finally, World War One ended. Germany surrendered at eleveno’clock in the morning on November Eleventh, Nineteen-Eighteen. Itwas the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Onthat day, thousands of Americans were completing their militarytraining in the United States. Others were either in France or onboats sailing to France.
They had arrived there in troop ships over a period of abouteighteen months. It would take almost that long to bring them home.While they waited to return, many had a chance to see the sights ofFrance — especially Paris.
To the young men who grew up in big cities such as New York orChicago, Paris was just another big city. But to the young men whogrew up on farms or in small towns, Paris was unlike anything theyhad ever seen.
VOICE TWO:
When the war ended, American soldiers wanted to return to thelife they knew before going to France. Almost overnight, the numberof troops in the American armed services dropped to what it had beenbefore the war.
In Nineteen-Nineteen, President Woodrow Wilson signed adeclaration naming November Eleventh as Armistice Day in the UnitedStates. It would be a day to honor the men and women who had servedin the American armed forces during World War One.
In Nineteen-Twenty-Six, Congress made Armistice Day a nationalholiday. The federal government would close that day. Most state andlocal governments, and all public schools would close, too. Paradesin almost every city honored the men and women who had helped bringpeace to Europe. But even as they celebrated, new problems were onthe way.
VOICE ONE:
The United States soon began to suffer severe economic problems.The stock market crashed in Nineteen-Twenty-Nine. Thousands ofbusinesses closed. Many people lost their homes and all the moneythey had saved. In the early Nineteen-Thirties, huge dust stormsdestroyed farmland in the middle western states. Families wereforced to move to other states to find work.
Then political troubles began to appear in other parts of theworld, especially in Europe and Asia. Soon, everyone knew that WorldWar One had not been the war to end all wars.
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VOICE TWO:
More than four-million Americans served in the armed forcesduring the First World War. Four times that many would serve in themilitary during the next war.
Most Americans who served in World War Two were young — eighteenor nineteen years old. They were the sons and daughters of World WarOne veterans. They too hoped their war would be a final one.
A few Americans were called back to duty because of theirexperience in World War One. Others joined because they had no jobs.The military gave them food, clothes and a place to sleep.
VOICE ONE:
The United States entered World War Two in Nineteen-Forty-One.Germany surrendered in May, Nineteen-Forty-Five, ending the war inEurope. Japan surrendered in August of that year, ending the war inthe Pacific area.
Armistice Day in Nineteen-Forty-Five was a very special day inthe United States. Most of the men and women who had fought in thewar had returned home. So, instead of just honoring veterans ofWorld War One that year, Americans also honored veterans of WorldWar Two.
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VOICE TWO:
In Nineteen-Fifty-Four, Congress decided to change the name ofArmistice Day to Veterans Day. By then almost six-million moreAmericans had served in another military campaign — the Korean War.
The number of veterans has continued to grow. Almost nine-millionAmericans served in the military during the Vietnam War. Andthousands of others took part in military campaigns in the Caribbeannation of Grenada and in Panama.
Hundreds of thousands of men and women served during the PersianGulf War. Thousands also served as members of the United Nationspeacekeeping force in Somalia.
Other American troops served to return the elected president topower in Haiti. And they helped keep peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina andthe Serbian province of Kosovo.
American troops defeated and ousted the Taleban rulers inAfghanistan after the terrorist attacks on the United States inTwo-Thousand-One. Troops still are searching for Taleban andal-Qaida fighters there.
VOICE ONE:
The term “veteran” is not restricted to those who served onlyduring wartime. It includes anyone who has served in the military atany time. On November Eleventh, America’s military veterans will beremembered with ceremonies and parades in cities and towns acrossthe nation. The president and other public officials will speak atVeterans Day ceremonies.
Americans will observe the anniversary of Veterans Day. They willhonor the men and women of the armed forces who have served theircountry in war and in peace.
(MUSIC: “SEMPER FIDELIS” MARCH)
VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced byCynthia Kirk. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram, THIS IS AMERICA.