Veterans' Day by Pete Zizka 11-11-2023

Since today is the special day to honor all military veterans, let’s take a look at how it came about and how it has been celebrated in the past. Older folks will remember that its former name was “Armistice Day” and  was officially named by a Congressional Resolution in 1926 although it had been called that since 11/11/1921 when an unknown soldier from WW1 was buried at Arlington Cemetery. The original intent of establishing an Armistice Day was to celebrate and remember the end of WW1 (the War to end all wars) at 11AM on 11/11/1918. In 1938, it became an official national holiday. But WW1 didn’t end all wars and by the end of WW2, over 16 million Americans had served in the Armed Forces and 417,000 had died. In 1947, the first Veteran’s Day celebration was held in Alabama and the desire for a nationwide day to honor all veterans began to spread. In 1954, President Eisenhower signed the bill passed by Congress that changed “Armistice Day” to “Veterans’ Day”. For ten years (1968-1978), the celebration was changed to the fourth Monday of November, but because of its significance to so many Americans, the date for the celebration was returned to the traditional November 11. Willimantic celebrated Armistice Day right from the beginning in 1921 with a parade and later a ball sponsored by the CT National Guard’s “Yankee Division”. From the 1920s through the ‘40s, Willimantic’s organizations, especially the VFW and American Legion were involved in sponsoring Veterans Day celebrations and programs ranging from prayer services, parades, and gatherings at Memorial Park to the full-scale balls, many sponsored by Willimantic’s 169th Infantry at the Pleasant Street Armory. Throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, the VFW, American Legion and other veterans’ groups continued Veterans’ Day observances, usually ceremonies held at Memorial Park. Even before Armistice Day, however, Willimantic and Windham always honored their veterans. After the end of the Civil War, the local volunteers, many who were now in an organization called “The Grand Army of the Republic” held annual gatherings in the city where they were welcomed and respected. Willimantic never had an actual Civil War monument and so its tribute to those who served was the designation of the large room in the new Town Hall as “The G.A.R. Hall”.  The Grand Army of the Republic rooms consisted of a meeting room, banquet hall and kitchen. The area’s WW1 veterans were officially welcomed home during Willimantic’s August 16, 1919 World War I Welcome Home Parade which was part of a daylong celebration that included a clambake, sporting contests, a dance at Lincoln Square and a military ball. Three hundred veterans were escorted by eleven divisions totaling 2,500 marchers. In today’s photo foreground are the Reserve  Corps Medical Officers followed by Willimantic’s Company “L”, 2nd Infantry CTARNG in line platoon formation. Behind them are servicemen of other units. An estimated 12,000 people turned out for the parade. After WW2, the demobilization of U.S. troops occurred over a period of many months so as veterans came back to the Willimantic area, there were no parades or celebrations. However, Willimantic’s leaders decided it was time to honor the WWII veterans and scheduled July 6, 1946, to be the big day in Willimantic. It began at 10 a.m. with a memorial service on the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Field. Then there was a massive parade of local serviceman and floats which headed down Main Street to Recreation Park, accompanied by an overhead flight of World War II aircraft. A band, the "Spirit of76," played rousing, patriotic music as the parade headed to Recreation Park. When the parade ended the veterans feasted from open-air tables at Recreation Park. The celebrations continued into the evening. Police estimated the crowd at Recreation Park that night to be in excess of 15,000. The gates of the park were locked to motor traffic at 8:30 p.m. on the orders of WPD Captain Frederick Laramie. It was an unforgettable parade and day to welcome back Windham’s servicemen from the Pacific and European theaters.. Thank you to all who served and are serving our country! For the next two weeks we’ll write about one of Willimantic’s hero veterans. click on photo to see larger version

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