As US Marks Veterans Day, Ex-WWII Soldier Fears Youth Failing To Learn From History

Veterans Day in the US is a sad feast for Americans who engaged in active combat and lost friends, but the major problem is that the same mistakes may be repeated because history is no longer taught properly in schools, World War II veteran Frank Cohn told Sputnik

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2021) Veterans Day in the US is a sad feast for Americans who engaged in active combat and lost friends, but the major problem is that the same mistakes may be repeated because history is no longer taught properly in schools, World War II veteran Frank Cohn told Sputnik.

On November 11, the United States observes Veterans Day, which US Congress set aside as a legal public holiday honoring all Americans who served in the military. In addition, the date marks the end of World War I in 1918.

"The big problem is that history is no longer taught properly in the schools. When forgotten, the same mistakes are made again," said Cohn, 96, who fought against the Nazis in Europe and participated in a historical meeting between US and Soviet troops at the Elbe River in Germany in April 1945.

Some middle schools, Cohn added, are focused on history, but it is not a general trend.

Children, for example, he said are not familiar with terms or phrases associated with the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor such as "a day that will live in infamy." He also said youth are not familiar with D-Day, when Allied forces landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944 in addition to VE Day (Victory over Nazi Germany in Europe) and VJ Day (Victory Over Militarist Japan).

"That is not a good thing," he warned.

On April 25, 1945, Soviet and US troops met at the Elbe River near the town of Torgau in Germany.

The meeting was a key milestone in the process of ending World War II and came about as US troops advanced from the west and Soviet troops advanced from the east, thus splitting Nazi Germany in two.

The veteran noted that he is always celebrating Veterans Day by commemorating his fallen comrades. Usually he goes to the Arlington cemetery near Washington, DC to participate in the ceremony of wreaths laying in front of the The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but this time has to skip it due to health issues.

"Veterans Day has always been a sad holiday for me while others enjoy the time off or go shopping. I could never fit into that mood, but to each his own," he said.

Cohn welcomed US administration efforts to help veterans, but noted that some minor improvements still can be done.

"If anyone was neglected, I guess it was the Vietnam veterans, but people have come around, so that pretty much now, there seems to be no longer a distinction - we are all veterans," he said.

The veteran admitted that he does not know how to avoid wars in the future.

"The way to beat a Hitler would be to clobber him when he first starts. However, in a democracy such actions will not work for us, and then when he gains strength it becomes a big deal," Cohn said.