Veterans Day

November 11
Tomb of the Unknowns
When I think of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, my mind wanders to two certain places. West Minister Abbey and Arlington National Cemetery. But as I was doing the research for this, I found out that nearly every country has a special spot for those unknown soldiers! (The US has three!)
(From Wikipedia) The tombs typically contain the remains of a dead soldier who is unidentified (or "known but to God" as the stone is sometimes inscribed)[1] and thought to be impossible ever to identify, so that he might serve as a symbol for all of the unknown dead wherever they fell. The anonymity of the entombed soldier is key to the symbolism of the monument: since his or her identity is unknown, it could theoretically be the tomb of anyone who fell in service of the nation in question, and therefore serves as a monument to all of their sacrifices. Much work goes into trying to find a certain soldier, and to verify that it is indeed one of the relevant nation's soldiers.

How the Tomb of the Unknown started in Britain is, during WW1, there were quite a few that had died that had no identities, or home. So Britain and France joined together to bury their unknowns in the proper manner of a burial of a religious background. The idea spread, and that is how the one in Westminister Abbey occured, and the one in Arc De Triomphe, plus others that followed.

Just as the Tomb of the Unknown began after WW1 Also so did Veterans Day.
In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Washington Admission Day
November 11, 1889. Same month that South and North Dakota, and Montana all separated into their own states.
George Vancouver explored much of the Washington coast and Puget Sound between 1792 and 1794, claiming the land for England. Other British explorers visited the area in the early 1800s from Canada. The United States also claimed rights to the area in 1792. Robert Gray explored the Columbian River and claimed all land surrounding the area. In 1805, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark also explored the area and gave the U.S. a second claim to the Northwest. Many Americans wanted all of the Oregon Country to belong to the United States. In 1846, a treaty was signed with Great Britain creating the 49th parallel as the border between Washington and Canada. By 1850, more than 1,000 people lived in Washington. This led to the creation of the Washington Territory in 1853. In 1883, railroad connection with the East brought many new settlers to Washington. Olympia became the state capital. In 1890, Washington’s population reached more than 350,000.

National Sundae Day
What is your favorite flavor of Sundae?
Jo says hers is with whipped cream and cherry on top with caramel
mine is scoop of vanilla, layer of peanut butter, scoop of vanilla (or banana) caramel topping, with a wee bit of cherry juice on top.