[Armistice Day’s purpose was to serve as a reminder of the
horrors of the First World War and carry forward the declaration of
those veterans of Never Again. ]
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ARMISTICE DAY AND THE EMPIRE: A NAME CHANGE AND THE CATASTROPHE THAT
FOLLOWED  
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Matthew Hoh
November 10, 2023
CounterPunch
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_ Armistice Day’s purpose was to serve as a reminder of the horrors
of the First World War and carry forward the declaration of those
veterans of Never Again. _

Armistice Day poster from the US Department of Labor, 1919.,

 

In 1954, the US Congress renamed Armistice Day to Veterans Day. The
stated reason
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to remember all generations of US veterans, not just veterans from the
First World War. Congress advanced this rationale on the disingenuous
notion that Armistice Day’s purpose was a celebration of veterans.
It was not. Armistice Day’s purpose was to serve as a reminder of
the horrors of the First World War and carry forward the declaration
of those veterans of _Never Again_.

For a US government implementing a militarized Cold War foreign policy
in 1954, a reconciliation-based holiday was inconvenient and
problematic. A holiday celebrating veterans would present no critique
of war or advocacy of peace; it would do the opposite. As we have seen
repeatedly since 1954, Veterans Day and other aspects of “support
the troops” rhetoric have been used to shout down dissent towards
American wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq and suppress criticism
of America’s massive overseas military empire and gargantuan
Pentagon budgets. The veneration of veterans, almost always
obligatorily referred to as heroes, became quasi-deification. In my
life, I have seen my military service elevated to near clerical
levels, reflecting a pseudo-religious treatment of America’s
military caste, best exemplified by the reflexive and ritual-like
statements of “thank you for your service.” The political
calculus behind the name change was correct.

The militarized foreign policy of the Cold War did not just remain
when the Cold War ended but became turbo-charged. The results of that
militarized foreign policy have been disastrous for US national
security and worldwide stability. The tremendous suffering of
entire nations
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people, as well as American veterans
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their families, cannot be overstated. 

Our celebration of war that accompanies each annual Veterans Day is
reflected yearlong through our politics, news media, Hollywood, and
education system. The consequences of this militarization do not stop
with the death and destruction from the instability and wars but
include the growth of a ravenous military-industrial complex, a
Leviathan, at the expense of our economy and society. With 60%
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the federal discretionary budget going to the Pentagon, military
contractors and to pay the costs of past wars, the opportunity costs
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American communities who are told there is not enough money for
healthcare, education, environmental protection and other needs are
severe.

That change from Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954 signaled a
conversion of the American government and its purposes. While the US
was an empire before the Second World War, the victory in 1945 created
an America that was _The Empire_. We have been reaping the
consequences of that transformation ever since.

Imagine what would be now if, rather than policies derived from a
jingoistic narrative of good wars and honorable slaughters, we had
preceded with the wisdom of those men from 1918 and followed their
admonition of _Never Again_. Returning to Armistice Day would not
simply restore the holiday’s original name but would signal a
commitment to peace, stability, prosperity, and hope for future
generations. As we endure veteran suicide
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bear a hollow economy and fragile communities, witness our government
direct and contribute to the great and unholy carnage in Africa, the
Middle East, and Eastern Europe, and recognize the twin existential
catastrophes of nuclear war and climate change, what Armistice Day can
represent does not sound simply aspirational but entirely necessary.

_MATTHEW HOH is a member of the advisory boards of Expose Facts,
Veterans For Peace and World Beyond War. In 2009 he resigned his
position with the State Department in Afghanistan in protest of the
escalation of the Afghan War by the Obama Administration. He
previously had been in Iraq with a State Department team and with the
U.S. Marines. He is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International
Policy._

_CounterPunch is reader supported! Please help keep us alive
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* Veterans
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* empire
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* peace
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* Armistice Day
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* Veterans Day
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