How many know that Veterans Day, as it’s been called the past 50 years, was originally designated Armistice Day, and remained so for nearly a century before the name was changed by an act of Congress?

And how many know the significance of “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month?” That phrase marked the armistice in 1918 that ended the First World War (ironically, called The War to End All Wars) at 11:00 a.m, on the 11th of November (the 11th month).

For some, these historical footnotes may seem obscure, even irrelevant.

But for the past ten years a group called Veterans for Peace has been working to reclaim the national holiday of November 11 as Armistice Day. A local chapter of vets again this year gathered at Kansas City’s WWI Liberty Memorial to sound a gong of remembrance eleven times at 11:00 a.m., and to distribute leaflets for their cause.

Why? Because they want to restore the original intent of the annual commemoration. “For many years,” their leaflet states, “this day served as a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and a collective vow of War No More. However in 1954 the US Congress redefined this day as “Veterans Day,” shifting its focus.”

What was that new focus? Near the small pop-up canopy of Veterans for Peace with its dove of peace flag was a much larger attraction—a Huey attack helicopter, with displays of weapons and ammunition, and a host of American flags.

I keep wondering if, in rightfully honoring those who served and sacrificed for our country, we have indeed forgotten that, in the aftermath of the ghastly legacy of WW1, “this day served as a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and a collective vow of War No More.”