I just read on history.com, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, silence was heard by soldiers along the Western Front in France. Just north of Paris, that morning, about 5 a.m., an armistice was signed by Germany and the Allied nations. World War I was to end. 
Our United States Congress on June 4, 1926, officially recognized the end of World War I with a resolution:  
“Whereas the 11th of November, 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and 
Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations, and
… Observe the day … with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.”
As a political entity, we have strayed from this resolution.
As a people, I put forth this vision. Hopefully we are learning to become world citizens. We are becoming aware of the suffering within our own country and in other countries around the world. Our hearts are open. Our minds are thinking of human rights. As the Dalai Lama says, “War is obsolete.” We know we are interconnected. Act on that belief.
As an individual human being, I honor my father, who was a veteran of World War II. He flew in the belly of a B-24, 35 missions. He had to bail out twice. He lived. He came home to my mother. I honor my mother. They made a family and raised a family.  When the draft was calling my brother to fight in Vietnam, my father declared at the dinner table, “Send me. I know what war is. Do not do that to my son.” He understood.
My parents taught me the value of physical work. They believed that children were their future. They loved to surround themselves with beautiful gardens. Healing happened there. Without healing, there is no peace.
Consider making a donation to Veterans for Peace, 1404 North Broadway, Saint Louis, MO 63102 One of their many efforts is to Reclaim Armistice Day. 
Patricia Heather-Lea
Bristol