The decision had been negotiated and made.  While the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, the official end  of the Great War,  was celebrated on the 11th hour of the 11th month in 1918.  It took longer to arrange the rules for peace. (Which actually turned out to be the rules to effect a Second World War!)

“The Great War” was the moniker by which that conflagration was known; it would become the first World War (no one expected the second- but they should have) in a few decades.    That was the moniker my father learned, too- and it was among the last sanctioned battles in which my grandfather (my mother’s father) was a participant.

The words of President Wilson still resonate in my soul…

” To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day [what Veteran’s Day was first called- and the name by which it is known outside the US] 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.”

While Armistice Day was celebrated around the world on the 1th of November,  it did not become an American holiday until 1938. It so remained until 1 June 1954, when President Eisenhower signed the law changing its appellation to Veteran’s Day.  However, the rest of the world still uses Armistice Day. for the celebration.

My grandfather was a veteran of that war.  While he (Sol Kuchlik) was never sure of the date (or day) of his birth,  because his family didn’t track such occasions well. Moreover, my grandfather was a man in a hurry.  (You think I might be related?)  He knew he was born during the holiday of Chanuka (that he remembers well) in Minsk, now part of Belarus, then part of the “Pale of Settlement” associated with Russia.

He was a strapping young man with bright red hair.  And, strong.  Willing to do anything to get out of the Pale- and get to the ‘Goldena Medina’…  Crossing Europe by himself.  Getting to America and fending for himself, never letting anyone know how old [read “young’] he really was.  (Yup, I learned that concept, too.)

I don’t  know how he met my grandmother.  (I am fairly certain he told me the tale, but for the life of me, I have no recollection of the facts.)  But, I do know he fell for her in a big way before he was asked by his boss to help Black Jack Pershing in a new war.  (Rumor had it that all three of them had met decades before.) Thinking he might have been kind of old for the job, but strong enough and smart enough to perform the special task his boss had in mind.

Like many a soldier, my grandfather wrote to his “girl” back home.  I have a good number of those postcards somewhere.  I remember finding the stash after he and Bessie (my grandma, his wife)  died.  Upon reading them, I realized that there was yet another part of this man I did not know.

What I do know is that my grandparents married soon after Sol returned to New York and stayed together until they died.  (I still do possess the sofa Sol  bought Bessie as a wedding gift.  Unfortunately, the coffee table was destroyed by the moving company [among many other pieces of furniture] when I downsized from my five bedroom house to my current abode.)

Every once in a while, I could get my grandpa to talk about his exploits.  Most of which he kept bottled inside.  His normal response was to immediately pepper me with arithmetic (or math, as I aged) questions.  Ones that demanded instantaneous responses.  He wanted me to use my brain- quickly, adeptly, and to do great things.

Here’s to you, Sol Kuchlik.  I miss you very much.

And, every other Veteran.  It’s your day.  You earned it.

By the way, this moment, 11-11-18 at the 11th hour, was the exact birth date and time for one of my dedicated employees, who wanted to go the extra mile when my personal life was falling apart. I will always remember him with fondness.  A veteran of another war.  Here’s to you, as well, Harry Thornton!  

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