Growing up I used to sit and listen to my grandfather tell stories from his navy days during WWI. He was only enlisted for a short time but he had a lot of stories. When I rode with him to "caddy" when he golfed at Fort Snelling Golf Course in Minneapolis, he would sing (and I would learn) WWI songs: "It's A Long Way To Tipperary", "Smile, Smile, Smile! (Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag)", "Over There", and "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm? (After They've Seen Paree?)" to name a few.
Lately, however, the litanies of wars in which Americans served seems to be missing WWI. It misses some other wars too, such as the Spanish-American War, but World War I is different. It was the first World war. It was the first modern weapon war, the first to use chemical weapon. Just into my 50s, I'm not that old, but old enough to have a grandfather who told stories of both world wars, and from an adult perspective. He was in college when he enlisted for WWI, and a father who had successfully supported a family through the Great Depression when WWII rolled around.
So it saddens me that all too often WWI is relegated to minor skirmish status. The Australians still celebrate Anzac Day, and they were only involved in the war because they are part of the British Empire. What we celebrate now as Veterans' Day in November was originally Armistice Day when the treaty to end the war was signed. But how many people know that? Not many, I imagine.
Someday, thirty years from now, will WWII become a footnote? Will people stop going to Normandy because it was all so long ago, last century?
We mustn't forget WWI. After all, WWII is #2 because of #1. It was a time when Americans felt compelled to pitch in and help their allies without hesitation, when the U.S. still was the strong nation that had the luxury of being the guys who had their backs.
We remember the Revolution, the Civil War, WWII. Let's not forget WWI.
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