Veteran's Day 2016

By: Megan Grossi

Veterans Day is this Friday, November 11^th. Salem State and other businesses will be closed in its observance. The day is meant to honor our fallen soldiers and give thanks to the men and women who have served our country, but when and why did we make this an official national holiday?

Veterans Day is always celebrated alongside Armistice Day, which signifies the official signing to end the fighting of World War I on November 11^th, 1918. The next year, June 28^th, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, and Armistice Day was declared a national holiday. After World War II and the Korean War, the celebration was extended to all Veterans, and so was renamed appropriately.

Ordinarily businesses take advantage of the holiday to hold big sales, typically the biggest sales of the season before Black Friday. Veterans are allotted discounts at most restaurants. And this year Boston will be holding two parades in honor of our Veterans – one right after the other. Starting at 1pm on Friday, November 11^th, the first parade will leave from the corner of Boylston and Tremont St., right outside of the AMC Lowes Theatre and across from the Commons. The second parade, following behind, is known as the Veterans for Peace Parade, which focuses on the theme of Armistice Day: Peace and unity. They will both make their way to City Hall Plaza, and down to the Samuel Adams statue in front of Faneuil Hall. There, speeches will be made, “anti-war” poetry will be read, and music will be played.

Some things to expect in the parades will be the Boston Police Pipes and Drum Corps, leading the way down Boylston, followed by the Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums, active members of the U.S. Navy, and OUTVET, a new Boston veterans organization dedicated to the LGBTQ members who have served; OUTVET is not only new to Boston, but it is also the first organization of its kind in New England. You may even see some Guy Fawkes masks in the crowd – remember, remember, the 5^th of November.

For anybody interested in attending the parades, take the Commuter Rail to North Station, and from there get on the Green Line (any of the lines would be fine: Health, Riverside, Cleveland Circle, or Boston College) to Park Street. From Park Street it’s a short walk down the Commons to the start of the parade. Or from North Station you could take the Orange Line to Chinatown to get closer.

Whatever you choose, make sure to thank a veteran this Friday and bear in mind the brave men and women who couldn’t be here for the celebration.