Syracuse vigil commemorates 100th anniversary of Armistice Day
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- About 40 people gathered in front of a WWI monument Sunday morning in Syracuse's Billings Park to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day.
"One hundred years ago, WWI had just ended," Veterans for Peace member Ron VanNorstrand said in a news release. "Nations mourned their dead and collectively called for an end to all wars.
"Armistice Day was born and designated 'a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated,'" he said.
On Sunday, Veterans for Peace Chapter 51 and the Beyond War and Militarism Committee of the Syracuse Peace Council and CNY Solidarity Coalition co-sponsored the vigil near the Rock of Marne monument at Billings Park, at South Salina and East Adams streets, in Syracuse.
The vigil aimed to not only commemorate, but also restore the true purpose of Armistice Day.
"For more than 35 years each November 11th bells were rung around the world to commemorate that peaceful pledge, at the 'eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month,'" VanNorstrand said in the release.
"After World War II the U.S. Congress renamed November 11 as Veterans Day and the annual dedication to world peace morphed into honoring the military and glorifying war," the release said.
"Armistice Day changed from a day for peace into a day for displays of militarism. We need to reclaim the original meaning of Armistice Day," VanNorstrand said.
