In the moments before Veterans Day ceremonies started on Nov. 11 in Secaucus Town Hall, a small circle of veterans gathered in the hallway. Most had served their country during World War II or the Korean conflict, and all shared their memories. But there are fewer men there to share these recollections each year.
While some veterans can recall the time when World War I vets were among their number, the last of these died in the mid-1990s.
“That was Eddie Strict, and he was 101 years old,” said Al McClure, chairman of the local chapter of the VFW.
The aging of veterans has been a growing problem over the last few years. Even World War II veterans are beginning to fade, and many vets from the Korean War are now over 70. The average age of a World War II veteran in the United States is 78.
While much of the history of American wars is recorded in books and film, much of the actual experience has been passed on by the men and women who lived through the conflict. Each recalls specific details of pain and heroism too personal for documentary. Each man can tell you about his memory of war – that vision of horror none can ever forget, haunting their lives forever. Yet it is this sense of keeping the memory alive that brings out members of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans two times a year: Memorial Day and Veterans day. By gathering together once or twice a year, the surviving vets contributed to helping people understand what their sacrifices meant.
McClure talks about preserving the tradition, how the town’s fathers had promised to always hold some kind of ceremony to remember veterans even at the point when the current veterans began to die off.
“Fewer and fewer politicians are veterans,” he said, a sad note sounding his voice. “And not many of the younger veterans are getting involved.”
Fortunately several key members of the council are veterans, such as Mayor Dennis Elwell and Deputy Mayor John Reilly – both of whom served in Vietnam.
“They have promised me they will keep the ceremonies after the rest of us have passed on,” McClure said.
Day honors living and dead
None of the men who came to this year’s Veterans Day on Monday wore a uniform – although several of the women from the Lady’s Auxiliaries wore their bright red or bright blue jackets. Most of the men wore suits and ties, although some ties are thick with stars and stripes. What distinguishes these men as veterans were the hats, the flat style or the baseball style, each bearing numbers or insignias.
Veterans Day was first celebrated on Nov. 11, 1921 when an Unknown Soldier’s remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery, at a site overlooking the Potomac River. This became a point of reference for veterans throughout the United States, giving universal recognition of the end of World War I. The war ended at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.
Armistice Day, as it was known then, became a national holiday in 1926. It was believed then that World War I would be the war to end all wars, something unfortunately disproved when violence again erupted in Europe within a decade, leading eventually to the Second World War. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation designating Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, this with the intent of honoring not only World War I veterans, but all veterans who fought for America.
Two more unidentified veterans were buried in Arlington, one killed in WWII, one in the Korean Conflict. In 1973 arrangements were made for the burial of an Unknown Soldier from the Vietnam War, though no unidentified solider was found until 1984.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the world changed for Americans, McClure said. War had come to America’s shores.
“It is a holiday for the living as well as the dead,” said Ralph Hansen, president of Secaucus American Legion, on Monday. “These are people who have known war up close and won’t forget it. They became as committed to peace when they got home as they were defending their country when overseas.”
Elwell said that a year ago, after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, he had mixed emotions about the prospect of war. He believed America would once more send its young men and women to Asia to fight.
“I knew if they came back they would not come back the same,” Elwell said. “A year later, people are questioning whether we should go to war at all.”
Elwell said the issue is a matter of resolve. Many of the soldiers that fought in World War I and World War II didn’t want to go, or went for a variety of reasons – one of which was the need to protect America. These people had the support of the American people. But with Korea and later with Vietnam, the resolve wavered, an issue that still remains part of our culture today.
“Where is our resolve?” he asked. “What do we say to our children? We should not send our young people into war unless we are willing to stand behind them. But we cannot close our borders – Sept. 11 taught us that. We need to educate our children. War is not something we want or want to push, but we must be prepared.”