Streams of Mercy

We shared a time in worship yesterday to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, “the war to end all wars.” The signing of the agreement that ended World War I was on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – November 11, 1918, at 11:00 am. Originally called Armistice Day, this federal holiday was changed to Veterans Day in 1954. At that time, it became a day to honor all the men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States.

A large statue of a “doughboy,” a member of the U.S. military service during World War I, stands in front of the county courthouse in my Kentucky hometown. It’s unknown exactly how U.S. service members in World War I (1914-18) came to be dubbed doughboys—the term most typically was used to refer to troops deployed to Europe as part of the American Expeditionary Forces—but there are a variety of theories about the origins of the nickname.

According to one explanation, the term dates back to the Mexican War of 1846-48, when American infantrymen made long treks over dusty terrain, giving them the appearance of being covered in flour, or dough. As a variation of this account goes, the men were coated in the dust of adobe soil and as a result were called “adobes,” which morphed into “dobies” and, eventually, “doughboys.” Other theories claimed the nickname could be traced to Continental Army soldiers who kept the piping on their uniforms white through the application of clay. When the troops got rained on, the clay on their uniforms turned into “doughy blobs,” supposedly leading to the doughboy nickname.

A show of hands in the congregation showed that very few of us could remember knowing a veteran from the First World War. Frank Woodruff Buckles, a US Army corporal, was the last surviving American military veteran of World War I. He died Feb. 27, 2011. Buckles enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 at the age of 16, and served with a detachment driving ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in Europe.

We offered the following prayer for veterans on this special day:

“God of peace,

we pray for those who have served our nation

and who laid down their lives

to protect and defend our freedom.

We pray for those who have fought,

whose spirits and bodies are scarred by war,

whose nights are haunted by memories

too painful for the light of day.

We pray for those who serve us now,

especially for those in harm’s way.

Shield them from danger

and bring them home.

Turn the hearts and minds

of our leaders and our enemies

to the work of justice

and a harvest of peace.

Let the peace you left us,

the peace you gave us,

be the peace that sustains,

the peace that saves us.”

In the name of the Prince of Peace,

we pray. Amen.

Giving thanks for those who now serve or have served in the United States Armed Forces – and for those streams of mercy, never ceasing.

Elizabeth