November 11, Armistice Day, to be observed in Milwaukee

International peace activist Kathy Kelly, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, will speak at a Milwaukee Armistice Day event on Friday, Nov.11, at 7 p.m. in the City Hall rotunda.

The event is a reminder that Nov. 11 – now a day to honor veterans – was established as a day to promote world peace. World War I, the “war to end all wars” ended on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.  Thirty million soldiers had been killed or wounded.

“On the original Armistice Day, the world came together in realization that war is so horrible we must end it now,” Mark Foreman, president of Milwaukee Chapter 102 of Veterans for Peace, said. Foreman is a former Navy medical corpsman who has a Purple Heart for serious wounds he received in combat in Vietnam, which permanently disabled him.

Kathy Kelly, peace activist, pacifist and author, is co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence in Chicago. As part of a peace team she has traveled to Iraq 26 times, remaining in combat zones during the early days of both US-Iraq wars. Her recent travel has focused on Afghanistan and Gaza, along with domestic protests against U.S. drone policy. She has been arrested in non-violent protests more than 60 times at home and abroad, and written of her experiences among targets of U.S. military bombardment and inmates of U.S. prisons.

Her theme on Nov. 11 will be, “Confronting State Violence: an Armistice for our time,” connecting the “war against the poor” with wars being waged and planned against people in other lands, including provocation against Russia and China.  Drawing from personal experiences living alongside people in war zones and in U.S. Prisons, Kelly will discuss possibilities for peacemaking.

After World War I, Congress responded to a hope among Americans for no more wars by passing a resolution calling for “exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding.” Later, Congress added that November 11th was to be “a day dedicated to the cause of world peace.”

“In 1954 Congress changed the name to Veterans Day, and in many cases it has become a celebration of militarism, honoring the war rather than the veterans who served,” Foreman said.  “Veterans for Peace wants to restore the tradition of Armistice Day as a day to promote world peace. “As veterans, we are committed to informing the public of the true causes and enormous costs of war, and working to heal the wounds of wars,” he said.

The event is co-sponsored by Milwaukee Veterans for Peace, Peace Action Wisconsin, United Nations Association-Greater Milwaukee, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Pachamama Alliance.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.