God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And
there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Genesis 1:31
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the
work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Psalm 104:24
In The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon, we’re shown glimpses into the lives of little-known Americans who likely were not found in your school history book.
Katherine Lee Bates wrote America the Beautiful as a poem,
inspired by a trip to Colorado in 1893. Those of us who have visited Colorado
ourselves are probably not surprised! The views are stunning.
Through the years Katie received many letters of praise
regarding her famous poem. However, according to McMahon, her favorite was
this: On the day “the Germans
surrendered in the Great War, soldiers serving in France heard about it at the eleventh
hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”. After the chaos and sounds of
war, “a bewildering silence fell. The soldiers stood speechless, staring at one
another, or dropped to the ground. Then they saw on a hillside a battalion in
formation and heard them singing ‘America the Beautiful’ and they all came to
life again, and sang it with tears on their faces”.
Armistice Day, later known as Veterans Day in the United
States, is commemorated every year on November 11 to mark the armistice signed
between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, at 5:45 am
for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which
took effect at 11:00 am—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the
eleventh month" of 1918—although, shelling from both sides continued for the rest of the day, ending only
at nightfall (from Wikipedia).
Although America the Beautiful lost out to The Star-Spangled
Banner to be signed into law as the national anthem in 1931, its appeal lies in that it doesn’t speak
of war, but of beauty.
O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw
Confirm thy soul in self-control
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for halcyon skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!
O beautiful for pilgrims feet
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
Wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!
O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice
For man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!
(Words by Katherine Lee Bates, composed into the song we
know today by Samuel Ward)
Happy Veteran’s (Armistice) Day!
Donna Gustafson
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