Veteran’s Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on November 11th of each year to honor all those who have served in the United States military. On November 11, 1918, the major combat in World War I came to an end. President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th Armistice Day in 1919. Armistice Day was declared a legal holiday on November 11, 1938. Veterans Day became a national holiday for the first time in 1947. Armistice Day was legally renamed Veterans Day in 1954.
Veterans Day coincides with Remembrance Day and Armistice Day in other countries.
World War I officially ended on November 11, 1918, at the eleventh hour. It’s also the eleventh month.
Originally known as Armistice Day, it was intended to honor those who died in World War I, but it was changed in the early 1940s to honor all veterans who have served in the United States military.
Veterans Day and Memorial Day are sometimes confused, but Memorial Day honors those who died while serving in the military, whereas Veterans Day honors all those who have served in the United States military, both alive and deceased.
Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran from Alabama, proposed in 1945 that all veterans, not just those who died in World War I, be honored on November 11th.
Ronald Reagan awarded Raymond Weeks the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982. Raymond Weeks oversaw the celebration from 1947 until his death in 1985.
Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October in 1971. In 1978, the date was changed back to November 11th.
The National Veterans Award was established in 1954, also in Alabama.
Veterans Day, observed on November 11th, is a state as well as a federal holiday in the United States.
Every year on Veterans Day, a ceremony is held in Arlington Cemetery to honor all those who have died in war.
There are approximately 24 million veterans living in the United States today.
During World War II, approximately 400,000 members of the United States military were killed.
Veterans Day is marked by a number of parades across the United States, as well as numerous speeches.
On November 11, 1921, an American soldier was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery. His identity was unknown, so his gravesite is known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. During a ceremony on November 11th, a wreath is placed on the grave. It is laid by the president or a high-ranking government official.
It was estimated in 2011 that approximately 8.1 percent of veterans in the United States are female.
Approximately 35% of today’s veterans served in the United States military during the Vietnam War.
Those who have served in the military in the United States, both men and women, earn more than those who have not.
Veterans Day is not supposed to have an apostrophe. Even so, some people spell it Veteran’s Day or Veterans’ Day.
