Good Morning Kossacks and Welcome to Morning Open Thread (MOT)
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In this photo taken two minutes before the signing of the armistice, soldiers of the 353rd Infantry wait near a church at Stemay, Meuse in France for the war to officially end.
Although World War I, known as "The Great War", officially ended on June 28, 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, all fighting stopped several months earlier when an armistice between the Allies and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.
An Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day."
In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
The Department of Veteran's Affairs says that most people confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day. Memorial Day is set aside for remembering those who died in service to their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds suffered in battle. Veterans Day is set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military, whether it was wartime or peacetime.
Here is something you should know:
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports that the VA estimates 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, approximately twice that many experience homelessness. Only eight percent of the general population can claim veteran status, but nearly one-fifth of the homeless population are veterans (the link provides ways to donate and/or get involved).
For a fifth year, the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are sponsoring their Holiday Mail for Heroes program. Details are at the website link, but keep in mind that all cards being sent in for 2011 Holiday Mail For Heroes program should be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9, 2011.
Many chain restaurants offer freebies and discounts to veterans on November 11th - a listing of some can be found here.
Operation We Are Here has the largest (over 150) and most comprehensive listing of organizations that support our troops that I have ever seen. Links are provided for practically everything imaginable to help our service members. There are also links for after deployment support and links to ways to show your support and recognition of our troops. There are literally thousands of ways to show your appreciation to our troops in these links.
I found this USA Today Article with wonderful "kindness, charity & philanthropy" links for our troops and vets.
You can also take a look at my blog roll over there --------------------------->
I have a partial listing of some of my favorite support sites linked there.
The best is for last - our very own Netroots for the Troops, Inc. Every year at Netroots Nation, using the money raised throughout the year for the contents, care packages are assembled by kossacks for mailing and delivery to our military in war zones.
With a hat tip to mama jo for sharing this video with me a few months ago, I close with KISS: