Veterans Day and our mission for peace

Imagine being with the U.S. Army during World War I. It is November, 1918. You and your regiment are under orders to attack the city of Metz in France to oust the enemy German army. As you march toward the city everyone has the fear of the battle to come.

But suddenly your concentration is disturbed when you hear a commotion and some talking coming from behind you. You hear fellow soldiers saying "Armistice, Armistice." It gets louder until everyone realizes what is happening. An Armistice signed by the U.S./Allies and Germany has just ended the war.

It would be the greatest feeling to go from war to peace in seconds. That's exactly the joyous moment American soldiers had at 11. a.m. on Armistice of Nov. 11, 1918.

"We just stopped marching then and there" said Staff Sergeant Paul N. Hill of Norton, KS describing what happened to the New York Times.

That is how Armistice Day (Veterans Day) came to be. It's a day to pray for peace and honor our soldiers who have sacrificed to try and win a lasting peace. That was the great hope of the Armistice, that there would be no more wars.

Some of the men who were at war in 1918 were again fighting in the same part of France during World War II.

On Armistice Day in 1946 soldiers from World War I and World War II gathered together to pray for peace at Madison Square Park in New York.

We can learn a lot from our veterans on how to build peace.

In Germany after World War II among the first humanitarian aid operations were started by U.S. soldiers. Reverend James Hoban of Catholic Relief Services went to postwar Germany and saw American soldiers starting their own programs to feed hungry children.

With children suffering in hunger, there was no question what the right thing to do was. Our veterans, who witnessed the horror of war and hunger, often set up their own child feeding programs before regular aid would arrive.

My father Vincent, who was with the Army during World War II, told of how their mess halls in Europe regularly gave out food to the hungry kids that were looking for anything to eat.

These small acts of compassion did a lot for children, and it's another reason to be proud of our veterans. It also provides a great example to us today because children are starving every day in war zones around the globe.

Hannah Stephenson, Save the Children’s head of advocacy for hunger and nutrition explains: “2025 has been a devastating year for the children living in the world’s worst conflict zones, with conflict pushing over 60 million children into hunger, including over 11 million who face emergency levels of hunger that necessitate desperate survival measures to stave off the risk of death.”

But humanitarian aid funding has been reduced this year by the U.S. government at a time when it is needed the most. We need to change this and realize that food aid saves children's lives.

On this Veterans Day (Armistice Day) we can be thankful for our soldier’s service and compassion. I think we can learn a lot from our veterans in the pursuit of peace today.

William Lambers is an author who partnered with the U.N. World Food Program on the book “Ending World Hunger.”