Today, November 11, is an important commemorative day.  Historically it was called Armistice Day; generally in Europe it seems to go by Remembrance Day; in the U.S. since the 1950s it’s been designated Veterans Day.  In every instance it brings to public attention the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when WWI officially ended.

Of course, such endings are always ragged,  and this one was as well.  But the war officially ended, and with it came the hopes and dreams of no more war which, in this case, spawned the even more deadly WWII and all of the assorted conflicts which followed, including the current war with Iran.

But today honors veterans – I am one (1962-63 – U.S. Army) – people who have served in various ways over the years.  In my case, two brothers are both Vietnam veterans (Air Force officers), and grandson Spencer is a Marine Sergeant, on assignment for a year as a Marine recruiter.  On and on.

Personally, I’m a peacenik, one of the lucky Vietnam-era veterans who was being trained for but never had to go to Vietnam, one who’s never regretted military service, even if it was not always agreeable.  Today I’ll wear my dogtags to a program across the Mississippi from me.  [The program was remarkable and informative, featuring four panelists with emphasis on the Vietnam era.  See NOTE at end of this post.]

My particular focus this day is my Uncle Frank Bernard, Dad’s brother, KIA on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.  (Photo of Frank in Honolulu below, some time before December 7, ’41)  Frank was one of the crew who went down with the ship.  His entire Navy career, 1936-41, was ship fitter on the Arizona.  In early December two of my daughters will be at Pearl Harbor for a Disinterment Ceremony, continuing a process made possible by DNA technology to hopefully identify human remains recovered and interred for 85 years for which there was no identity.  (See the first three paragraphs of the letter which I received in May 2026: Arizona Battleship disinternment.)  There is no assurance that Uncle Frank’s remains,, or any other crew will be positively identified, but we’re grateful for the efforts. Third paragraph from the end of the letter is the link for live stream viewing.

NOTE: The panel on Veteran’s Day in West St. Paul MN;  Gary Gilson, Stephen Young, Sam, and Larry Johnson.  Larry is a long time good friend and author of a well received book ‘Sixty One’.  I didn’t catch the last name of Sam.  The pdf identifies two on-line videos by Gary Gilson, and four books by Stephen Young: Gary Gilson, Stephen Young.

Two personal heroes of mine are Joe Schwartzberg and Lynn Elling.  Since 2008, I’ve had a website largely dedicated to them.  Both were military officers at one point in their lives, Army and Navy, respectively. https://amillioncopies.info/