President Wilson's Ravioli

Did you know that ravioli is the meal associated with Veterans Day?  No?  Well, I’ll come back to that bit of trivia.

The 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918 saw the official end of World War I.  In the aftermath grateful countries around the world proclaimed ‘memorial’ days that became known as ‘Remembrance Day’, ‘Armistice Day’, or ‘Poppy Day’.  King George V specifically dedicated the day on November 7, 1919; President Woodrow Wilson followed suit on November 11, 1919.

On May 13, 1938 ‘Armistice Day’ became a legal holiday in United States. Following a campaign by a Kansas shoe store owner, President Eisenhower signed into law an act to celebrate all veterans and ‘Armistice Day’ became ‘Veterans Day’.

Why are red poppies associated with this very special holiday?   They became the emblem due to the poem “In Flanders Fields’.  These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I; their brilliant red color symbolized the blood spilled in war.

As we pay homage to our veterans today, I thought it would be appropriate to salute those authors who are veterans as well as people’s favorite books featuring military heroes/heroines.  The following roll call is just a start and I hope folks will share their list so we can all add to our TBR pile.

Moreover, today my fellow NYUS author Rita Henuber is blogging Veterans Day comments over at www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com.

Oh, what about the ravioli, you ask? For the first ‘Armistice’ celebration, President Wilson invited 2000 soldiers to the White House and helped the staff chefs cook the soldiers ravioli, which had just become a mainstay in the American kitchens due to the rise of commercial canning.  Wilson predicted ravioli would soon be a popular meal. [At least it’s a popular hurricane supply].

So on this Veterans Day, I give thanks to all our veterans and those currently in the military and lift a plate of ravioli in salute to their service and sacrifice.

Carol Stephenson

Her Dark Protector, a Justice Hunter book
coming March 26, 2012 from Carina Press
Follow Carol at:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
***********************************************************************

Military Authors
David Bridger [Carina Press, Royal Navy for 10 years]
PC Cast
Cindy Dees
JoAnn Ferguson
Susan Grant
Merline Lovelace
Lindsay McKenna
Tia Nevitt [Carina Press, Air Force, 1984-1988]
Patricia Wood

Books  with Military heroes/heroines

Rita Henuber, Under Fire, featuring a female Coast Guard pilot

Nearly any book by Suzanne Brockman [Tall, Dark & Handsome series; Troubleshooters series]

Catherine Mann’s Wingham Warrior series

Jill Monroe’s SEAL series

Linda Howard’s “MacKenzie” series