“At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month! A simple telegram of three lines brought us the great news: ‘At eleven o’clock today in accordance with the terms of the armistice, firing ceased on the American front.’ It meant five words to us ‘The War is Over!’ and ‘Home.’ We knew it was true and for days we knew it was bound to come, but still it didn’t seem real. Could the world really be freed of the curse that has infected it for fifty-two months, could the end really have come to the organized efforts of men to kill, could we look forward to tomorrow without wondering what horror it might hold in store for us and those for whom we cared!” -- Hermann Moyse, Sr., letter to his fiancee
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"I have today signed a proclamation calling upon all of our citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954 as Veterans Day. It is my earnest hope that all veterans, their organizations, and the entire citizenry will join hands to insure proper and widespread observance of this day. " -- Pres. Eisenhower, on signing the bill that changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day. (Photo here)
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Today is Veterans Day. It was originally Armistice Day, which marked the end of what is now known as World War I, but is now known as Veterans Day. Remember that; it's important.This link has a photo of the post-armistice signing. Here is the official homepage for Veterans Day.
Showing posts with label American History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American History. Show all posts
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
The Moon and the Man Who Walked On It
Yesterday, Neil Armstrong died.
"One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind," indeed. There are a lot of rumors about that trip, and Snopes as usual is reliable in rebutting and explaining them. There are plenty of tributes out to him that are better than I can do.
I wasn't even born when he walked on the moon. But, the fact that a man had walked on the moon changed history. Between his death and Sally Ride's, we can see history starting to fade. Luckily, we have much better record keeping than we've had in the past, so we won't be losing nearly as much as we used to lose when great people passed on.
The moon seems so far away, yet it has a huge impact on the planet. Not just in the literal, tide altering ways. Eclipses, full moons, whatever you can think of, the moon has been a part of mythology since we've got records of it. Walking on the moon, however, has done very little to demystify it. It is still a powerful symbol, even if we've planted American flags there.
Lucky for us, I think, we've had an amazing space program that's done more for humanity than simply beat the Soviets. America's astronauts will inspire our country probably for as long as we're a country. I tried to find a way to explain that more succinctly, but I was beaten to it: "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Entirely true.
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P.S.,
Curiosity, the nifty Mars rover, has some pretty big shoes to fill. Some day, when we get people to Mars, we'll need to try and recover Curiosity and the other Mars rovers to put them into the proper museum.
"One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind," indeed. There are a lot of rumors about that trip, and Snopes as usual is reliable in rebutting and explaining them. There are plenty of tributes out to him that are better than I can do.
I wasn't even born when he walked on the moon. But, the fact that a man had walked on the moon changed history. Between his death and Sally Ride's, we can see history starting to fade. Luckily, we have much better record keeping than we've had in the past, so we won't be losing nearly as much as we used to lose when great people passed on.
The moon seems so far away, yet it has a huge impact on the planet. Not just in the literal, tide altering ways. Eclipses, full moons, whatever you can think of, the moon has been a part of mythology since we've got records of it. Walking on the moon, however, has done very little to demystify it. It is still a powerful symbol, even if we've planted American flags there.
Lucky for us, I think, we've had an amazing space program that's done more for humanity than simply beat the Soviets. America's astronauts will inspire our country probably for as long as we're a country. I tried to find a way to explain that more succinctly, but I was beaten to it: "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Entirely true.
----
P.S.,
Curiosity, the nifty Mars rover, has some pretty big shoes to fill. Some day, when we get people to Mars, we'll need to try and recover Curiosity and the other Mars rovers to put them into the proper museum.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Space and Sally Ride
According to Sally Ride's page, she died earlier today. She was the first American woman in space. Even though I am not a girl, I remember her being one of the go to figures for little girls when I was growing up as an example of women in modern science. Space has a special appeal to me, and this is kind of a bit of a punch in the gut.
Here's a nice little video from YouTube with Ride talking for about two minutes or so about her experience. Here is her bio from NASA, and here is a very basic introduction to her life. It's good that we were able to capture a lot from her life and experience; the amount of people who have been to space is so small that each of their experiences is immensely valuable to us.
So, go read a little about her life.
Here's a nice little video from YouTube with Ride talking for about two minutes or so about her experience. Here is her bio from NASA, and here is a very basic introduction to her life. It's good that we were able to capture a lot from her life and experience; the amount of people who have been to space is so small that each of their experiences is immensely valuable to us.
So, go read a little about her life.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Tinner Hill Monument
Today, I was on my way to Victory Comics for Free Comic Book Day. I actually used to work at a building near by, so I know the area pretty well. One day while I was getting off the work, I noticed a stone arch. Since I was early that day, I swung by to take a closer look. Today, when I was going by, I had my camera, so I took a picture.
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| It's a monument. |
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Great Books, Great History: The Great Gatsby
If you want to understand a culture, you often try to get a good grasp of some of their stories and myths. When I was growing up, for example, I remember reading myths as we progressed through history. I think the same is true for getting a good grasp of historical context of an era. Some of the literature you read may be nonfiction (for example, Frederick Douglass' autobiography).
The Great Gatsby is probably one of the best examples of American fiction that ties perfectly into what is supposed to be this blog's driving theme: the marriage of literature, myth and history. Gatsby is an enigma; he captures not just Nick's imagination, but the spirit of what we've come to associate with the 1920s. Like Paul Revere's poetic ride, the myth is different than the actual history, but the story itself informs us in ways that a straight history does not.
The Great Gatsby is probably one of the best examples of American fiction that ties perfectly into what is supposed to be this blog's driving theme: the marriage of literature, myth and history. Gatsby is an enigma; he captures not just Nick's imagination, but the spirit of what we've come to associate with the 1920s. Like Paul Revere's poetic ride, the myth is different than the actual history, but the story itself informs us in ways that a straight history does not.
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