Happy Armistice Day

Happy Veterans Day! I've been generating an AI image a day for the last 42 days. As today is a national holiday, I decided to generate an image to celebrate the world's veterans.

Hostilities in the first world war officially ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.

The war itself officially ended on 28 June 1919 with the Treaties of Versailles.

Armistice day began as an International holiday. Personally, I think it should continue that way as the veterans who did the fighting are usually normal people. I hold those who served their country in high esteem, even those who were born in other countries.

November 11 is a national holiday in Belgium, France, the UK, Serbia, the US and Poland.

Apparently, the people of Italy celebrate the Armistice of Villa Giusti which took place on November 4th in 1918.

People Want to Politicize the Day

I like to celebrate the people and not the politics. Unfortunately, the world is full of people who like to politicize all issues.

For example, students at Columbia University want to change the holiday to "Martyrs Day." Martyr's day would celebrate anyone who was "martyred" for a left wing cause while dismissing traditional veterans.

Are martyrs for all causes equal? Is a smuggler who died in the drug wars as notable as a person serving the government.

The political class love the martyrs for their cause, but dismiss the martyrs for others.

Veterans Day v. Memorial Day

The United States has two holidays for war heroes.

Memorial Day falls on the last day in May. It commemorates people who died while serving the US Armed Forces. The first Memorial Day took place in 1868.

Apparently, the first Memorial Day honored Union soldiers. People began commemorating both sides of the Civil War.

Veterans Day celebrates those who served in the armed forces and survived. The survivors often need assistance that goes beyond memorials.

As for the Image

I asked Night Cafe for an image of veterans marching in a parade. It seems like a nice diverse group. There probably should be more women.

Here is a higher resolution version of the image.