Armistice Day observation today

To the editor:

Veterans for Peace Chapter #161 is sponsoring an Armistice Day Observance to be held on today at the Clinton Street entrance to Old Capitol, Iowa City.

The observance will begin at 10:45 a.m. and bells will be rung at 11 a.m., as they were rung around the world at the end of World War 1 in 1918 and on each Nov. 11 for decades thereafter. Armistice Day is a day to promote peace and to remember the victims of war, both soldiers and civilians.

Congress originally declared Nov. 11 ' … a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.'” In 1954, Congress changed the name to Veterans Day. Some Veterans for Peace members feel that the substitution of the word 'Armistice” to 'Veterans” changes the focus from peace to war by celebrating and honoring the rhetoric and symbolism of war.

The event will feature Veterans for Peace from throughout the state of Iowa, with experience from World War II through the Afghanistan War. This will mark the sixth year that Veterans for Peace have sponsored the Armistice Day Observance, which this year is co-sponsored by PEACE Iowa. The event is free and the public is welcome.

Ed Flaherty

Iowa City