Flag-waving day born 11/11/1918
By James Breig
On Nov. 11, 1918, the citizens of Anaconda, Montana, held an impromptu parade. Among the prominent participants was William Tell Moore, a black constable. Carrying a large American flag, he led a delegation of black citizens “in a manner that personified dignity and patriotism,” said a newspaper.
The occasion was the first Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I. For decades, Armistice Day would be celebrated on Nov. 11, the date the peace agreement was signed in France. Eventually, the date would become Veterans Day to salute all those in the service, whether their conflict was Gettysburg, the Marne, Iwo Jima or Afghanistan.
The first Armistice Day, 95 years ago, triggered flag-bedecked celebrations in cities and towns throughout America. In little Gouverneur, New York, for example, “every bell in the village” began ringing and every work whistle began sounding when the news was announced that the Great War had ended.
Soon, reported the Watertown Daily Times, people improvised a parade with the village president riding in a car “decorated by the Stars and Stripes, the Union Jack and the French Tri-Color.”
In Augusta, Georgia, thousands of people rushed downtown when they heard the news. To the daily paper, the celebration showed that “the Stars and Stripes were in greater victory and in greater honor….Practically every individual showed the colors of America and her allies, and a sea of flags waved as paraders marched along.”
Across the continent in Bellingham, Washington, another spontaneous celebration broke out as word quickly spread that peace had arrived. Mill whistles and church chimes sounded the good news, and car horns soon added to the clamor.
The first marchers assembled at 2 a.m., rubbing sleep out of their eyes, as thousands jammed the city’s heart in the darkness. A newspaper said that “a long line [of marchers] was ablaze with American flags, with an occasional allied flag….Liberty hall was bright with two large American flags.”
On the eastern end of the nation, in Washington, D.C., hundreds of federal workers exited their office buildings. One woman unfurled a huge U.S. flag as another began to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Hats were doffed, and hundreds joined her in the anthem.
Thus, from feelings of joy, enthusiasm and relief, was born Armistice Day, the progenitor of Veterans Day, observed every Nov. 11 with flags, prayers and gratitude toward those who serve in war and peace.