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2011 SESSION

11101946D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 608
Offered January 12, 2011
Prefiled January 11, 2011
Commemorating the Centennial of Armistice (Veterans) Day in Virginia.
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Patron-- Bell, Richard P.
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, Veterans Day, originally called Armistice Day, is a federal holiday observed on November 11 annually in the United States to honor all military personnel, living and dead, who served the country during times of peace and war, and commemorates the end of World War I; and

WHEREAS, Armistice (Veterans) Day was first observed on November 11, 1919, the anniversary of the war in response to a proclamation issued by President Woodrow Wilson that expressed pride in the heroism of those who died during the war; and

WHEREAS, World War I, the "Great War," "the war to end all wars," began in August 1914, was centered in Europe and involved all of the world's great powers which had assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Central Powers; and

WHEREAS, although alliances, imperialism, militarism, and nationalism were long-term causal factors of the war, the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife, on June 28, 1914, triggered the beginning of the war; and

WHEREAS, World War I was considered to be the first "modern" war, displaying effects never seen before in previous wars, and more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history in which more than nine million combatants were killed, primarily due to great technological advances in firepower without corresponding advances in mobility; and

WHEREAS, the United States became involved in the war in April 1917, and the World War I Memorial and Centennial Act of 2009, states that "more than 4,000,000 American men and women served in uniform in the defense of liberty, among them two future presidents, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower; two million Americans served overseas during the war, including 200,000 naval personnel; the United States suffered 375,000 casualties; and the events of 1914 through 1918 shaped the world, United States, and the lives of millions of people in countless ways"; and

WHEREAS, the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, at 11:00 a.m., "the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," halted the fighting and hostilities between the Allied Nations and Germany, and ended the war officially with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919; and

WHEREAS, Armistice Day was made a state holiday by many states during the 1920s and 1930s, and in 1938, Congress declared Armistice Day a federal holiday, and in 1954, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day to honor American veterans of World War II and the Korean War, and today, veterans of all wars are honored on the holiday; and

WHEREAS, the Centennial of Armistice Day, the end of World War I, "the Great War" and its legacy, should be commemorated on November 11, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. throughout the Commonwealth, including observing the occasion with a moment of silence in honor of this historic event; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Centennial of Armistice (Veterans) Day be commemorated in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Governor be requested to call upon the citizens of the Commonwealth to observe November 11, 2011, with appropriate programs and activities to remember and honor the heroic men and women of the United States who valiantly served this nation and mankind during World War I; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to the Director of the Virginia Department of Veteran Services, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Executive Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, requesting that they further disseminate copies of this resolution to their respective constituents so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.