Last week, Princess Anne, the Queen’s daughter, visited Washington, D.C., as part of the U.K.’s commemorations. Among other engagements, she unveiled a plaque at Arlington National Cemetery dedicated to American recipients of Britain’s highest military honor, the Victoria Cross. These exceptional Americans received the Victoria Cross (rather than its U.S. equivalent, the Medal of Honor) because they fought with the armed forces of Canada, then part of the British Empire.
Today, Canada is a key member of the Commonwealth, an association of 53 nations that aims, among other things, to promote human rights and good governance. Hundreds of Commonwealth war cemeteries across the world mark the shared sacrifice of men and women from all over the Commonwealth.
More and more, British and American military personnel work together not just in training and on operations but in recuperation. Two months ago, at London’s Olympic Park, Princess Anne’s nephew, Prince Harry, hosted the inaugural Invictus Games, bringing together wounded British, American and allied servicemen and women in a hugely successful sporting competition modeled on America’s own Warrior Games.
President Wilson was, understandably, reluctant to bring the United States into a conflict he described, with some reason, as “the most terrible and disastrous of all wars.” But in explaining his decision to do so, he hit upon what I believe are some of the lasting themes of the special relationship.