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Flanders Field Cemetery |

It was two decades later that November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In a grassroots effort that began in Kansas, America’s heartland, during the years after WWII and the Korean War, a drive to expand the Armistice Day celebrations to include veterans of all wars was successful. Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill into law that transformed November 11 to “Veterans Day” in 1954. These days, only 21 percent of employers observe this federal holiday, but still it is a day on which most people think about the veterans of all wars and of those not-yet-veterans who are risking their lives in battle.
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Flanders Field |
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I happened upon this story and it seemed a perfect time to read it.
Miss Dimple Disappears by Mignon F. Ballard

The story begins at this time of year, during the second week of November, when people's thoughts are turning toward Thanksgiving. It will be a different holiday from those of the past, for so many reasons it is hard to list them. This is the first major family holiday since America entered the war. Most of the young men, sons and husbands will be away from home. They are in training or even in peril and they are all missing home as much as their folks. The windows of many homes have a blue star flashing out the message that an inhabitant is off in the fray. Some homes have the golden star in their windows, memorializing those who have already lost their lives.


Miss Dimple Kilpatrick, a first-grade teacher, disappears one morning while on her usual walk and this mystery just simmers a bit because the mysterious death of the school custodian is also the talk of the town. In a community effort, different individuals try to find clues and even though Miss Dimple has left several, the people of Elderberry are so accustomed to safety that they are blind to the possibility of danger. This is the only part of the book that is a little hard to believe, but even as it is today the people are tired, discouraged and busied by their daily lives and have little ability to investigate mysteries.
Initially, it seems that there are too many characters to keep straight, but eventually the reader gets to know the personalities behind the names and begins to feel at home in Elderberry. I have known people like this. I only wonder if we have changed as a society to such an extent that we would not be willing to give up such personal items as hangers and our pots and pans. Are there enough of us who know how to cook using substitutions to make meals enjoyable or even palatable, since we have grown up with ready-made food?


It is poignant to see pictures of a WWI vet attending the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982 and holding to his chest the flag he and his son both fought under. On November 11th we salute the living and the dead.
Sometimes it is the survivors who have difficult challenges, and the Veterans Administration helps in some ways, but sometimes the community steps in. An example of veterans helping veterans is a shelter called Home of the Brave which was founded by four Vietnam combat vets in Milford, Delaware. Its purpose is to house and feed homeless vets and help them get back on their feet in hard times.
Here's to you on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year 2011, 11/11/11.
I appreciate the quiet thoughtfulness of your blog. Thanks, MC. Nikki
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post on this day of remembrance.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting on a Mignon Ballard book! I met this South Carolina writer at a book festival in Greenville, SC...she's a very special warm and friendly friend. While most people were over waiting for Nicholas Sparks to sign his first book THE NOTEBOOK...I avoided the crowd and talked to Mignon.
ReplyDeleteShe autographed her AUNT MATILDA's GHOST for my grandchildren with a outline of Casper!