There is a reason why we are performing The Foe and the Fallen: Stories from The Greatest War on November 11. Although Tuesday is not a typical “show night,” this date and holiday hold significant meaning—some of which has been lost over the years.
World War I ended on Monday, November 11 at 11:00am. It was an abrupt end to a catastrophic conflict that had engulfed much of the world for four years. The reason it happened at all was never fully understood, and is still debated today. What people learned was that the human race was capable of destruction at a level never before conceived of, and that this must never, ever happen again.
It was in this spirit that one year later on November 11, 1919 the U.S. celebrated its first Armistice Day. In the dedication ceremony, President Wilson expressed “gratitude for the victory…because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.” Recognizing the lives lost and celebrating the peace became central to Armistice Day.
After another World War and the Korean War, congress passed a resolution to make November 11 Veterans Day, to celebrate veterans of all of America’s wars. In the official proclamation, President Eisenhower recognized the many lives lost in war and urged Americans to “reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”
But many argue that the focus of Veterans Day has shifted from the original purpose of Armistice Day. Ceremonies seem to shift away from the soldier and towards the military. One strong critic of Veterans Day was Kurt Vonnegut who wrote “Armistice Day has become Veterans’ Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans’ Day is not. So I will throw Veterans’ Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don’t want to throw away any sacred things.”
He was a veteran, so has more authority on the issue than myself. But when I look at the roots of Veterans Day and at Eisenhower’s proclamation, I see a holiday rooted in the celebration of the very peace that is meant to be the outcome of veterans’ efforts.
So this November 11, we will hold both holidays with ceremony, celebration, and remembrance. We will honor the person wearing the uniform. We will recognize the complexities of war and bravery in its many forms. We will place ourselves in an extraordinary, unprecedented time, and sit for a while with the lives of those who lived it in real time. We will tell their stories.
Yours in remembering,
Ken
Written by: Ken Fitzsimmons
Ken Fitzsimmons has worked in music for 30 years, receiving a Bachelor of Music under the tutelage of jazz bass great Richard Davis, and an MBA from the Bolz Center of Arts Administration. He is the bassist in Milwaukee-based Little Blue Crunchy things and co-founder of the nationally touring Irish rock group The Kissers.
He has taught music privately for three decades and serves as the Education Director at Madison Music Foundry. In 2018 he was the Artistic Director for the multimedia “rock and roll history show” The Greatest War: World War One, Wisconsin, and Why It Still Matters produced in partnership with Four Seasons Theatre and Antishadows Theatrical Design.
