Veterans Corner

Community Contributed

By Jesse Church

Aloha my fellow veterans and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with all the veterans news and upcoming events. This Tuesday, Nov. 11, is the 76^th anniversary of Veterans Day, when the American people come together as a nation to remember and say thank you to all living veterans for their sacrifices in both peace time and in time of war. On behalf of all my fellow residents of Molokai and myself, we send a sincere thank you to all American veterans for their service, mahalo.

The legislative battles that were fought on this day are often forgotten, and the beginnings of Veterans Day when it was called Armistice Day for 12 years, until 1938. Then the Armistice Day holiday bill was introduced on Aptil 26, 1937 as H.R. 6656 by Rep. Bertrand Gearhart, himself an overseas veteran, and public law 510 was signed on May 13, 1938, effectively making Nov. 11 Veterans Day. But back then, each state had to legalize holidays, so each state governor was asked to make Nov. 11-19 Veterans Week, and that same year, 20 states did so.

By the end of the Korean War, Nov. 11 had to be a holiday for all veterans, and on June 1, 1954, the name was officially changed to Veterans Day. Just 14 years later, Congress forgot the importance of the date, and enacted legislation for the Monday holiday law, placing the day in October three years later. This started a seven-year battle that united all veterans, and after years of conflict with lawmakers, 46 states had restored Veterans Day to Nov. 11. Congress finally relented, and passed a law returning Veterans Day to Nov. 11 beginning in 1978.

All my fellow Marines, it’s time to get those dress blues out of the closet because Monday, Nov 10 is our 239^th birthday and it’s time to party. As all Marines know, the Marine Corps was born on Nov. 10, 1775 at Ton’s Tavern in Philadelphia. To all you Marines that are going to the Marine Corps Ball, enjoy yourself, take it easy with the liquid refreshment, and make the Corps proud of you.

I Hope that everyone did well with the last question, which was, in 1901, who founded the Hawaiian Pineapple Company? The answer is James Dole, as in Dole Pineapple. The next question is, Hawaii is the only state to grow what drinkable crop?

To all our active duty and reserve service members, our veterans and all the men and women who have worn the uniform of our Armed Forces, the people of Molokai say thank you and we wish you a wonderful Veterans Day. If anyone has any questions, suggestions or news, please give old Jesse a call at 553-3323. Have a great week and remember, if you see a veteran when you’re out, please tell him or her thank you for your service, ask them what branch of service they were in, where they were stationed, or just talk to them and show an interest. You may learn something. Remember old Jesse Loves you all. Aloha.