Friday, November 11th, 2011 (11/11/11)
New Orleans, Louisiana
VETERANS HONORED AROUND THE WORLD!
Many soothsayers are excited about what may happen on 11/11/11. They consider the number 11 to be a Master Number. According to those believers, on this special day, you can use mind power to actualize what you want in your life. For them, it is a day to look forward. But there are those, like yours truly, who acknowledge that this is a special day, but for a totally different reason. For us, November 11 is a day to look back, to remember — the special day to honor the millions of veterans who served and fought throughout this century to protect our right to be free.
November 11th is Veterans Day. Few Americans know the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, which is celebrated in May. Veterans Day honors all those who served in any military capacity. Memorial Day commemorates those who gave their lives in service to America. And there are countries worldwide that have adopted this day to remember and honor those who served in the many wars of the 20th century. Services and ceremonies will take place on Friday in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, France, Belgium, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland, just to name a few.
For many Americans, Veterans Day is just another holiday to get off work. There is quite a contrast to this attitude in Great Britain. The military celebration there is called Remembrance Day, and it is held on the Sunday closest to November 11. There are church services throughout the country, and there are parades of ex servicemen and women in towns and villages from north to south. In both world wars, London was under heavy attack from the Germans with nightly air raids, and the Brits were much more personally touched than we were. I witnessed the emotion of this special day on a trip to London a few years back. Continue reading “Jim Brown’s Weekly Column: Veterans Honored Around the World”