Mrs. Shirley Ann Hunt Highbaugh Mitchell has spent the last 60 years placing American flags on the graves of our servicemen and women. Her commitment to celebrating American soldiers has taught four generations how to be steadfast in honoring others in word and deed. On this day, we not only observe Veterans Day, but we engage our readers with why the day exists.
In the eleventh month and on the eleventh day, America celebrates the ending of the “War to end all wars,” World War I. In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 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…”
In 1938, Congress established Nov. 11 as a legal holiday. In 1954, Congress changed the name to Veterans Day so the holiday would honor American veterans of all wars, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law.
To Shirley Ann Hunt Highbaugh Mitchell, thank you for 60 years of remembering and honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Your enduring gesture reminds us that remembrance is not simply something we observe on a designated day; it is a commitment we carry forward through generations.
Contact Health and Environmental Reporter LaTasha Boyd Jones at tashaj@indyrecorder.com or follow her on social media @iamtashajones.
Tasha Jones is a poet, writer, researcher, and educator whose work explores language as a tool for liberation and resistance. She hosts In the Beginning: The Spoken Word Podcast, the #1 spoken word podcast on Apple and Spotify. Tasha is also the Poems & Parables Literary Journal editor and is currently writing Pyramids. Plantations. Projects. Penitentiaries. You can follow her on social media: @iamtashajones, @itbspokenwordpod, and @poemsandparables.
