Orange County REALTORS® Annual Veterans Tribute

Featuring OC REALTORS® and Affiliates

By Sherri Butterfield

World War I, which began in 1914, eventually involved all the world’s economic powers in what was called simply the “Great War.” On one side were France, Italy, Japan, the Russian Empire, the United Kingdom, and the United States. On the other side were Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire. Ultimately, more than 70 million military personnel were mobilized for—and more than 9 million combatants were killed in—what became the fifth-deadliest war in history.

This global conflict officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919; however, major hostilities had ceased seven months earlier, when an armistice went into effect at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For this reason, November 11, 1918, is generally recognized as the date on which the “war to end all wars” came to an end. In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day, and it was set aside to honor veterans of World War I with parades and public gatherings and with a brief suspension of all business activities at the “eleventh hour.”

In 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen in U.S. history and after American forces had repelled communist aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress passed H.R. 7786, which President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law, changing the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. Coming as it does in the month of Thanksgiving, Veterans Day is an ideal time not only to take pride in heroism but also to give thanks for freedom, for victory, and for all who have served the United States of America in uniform, whether to win a war or to preserve the peace.

To view the veterans listed in this article, please view the OC REALTOR® November/December 2023 and go to pages 38-40.