This November 11th, as our serviceman battle terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, Veteran’s Day will be celebrated as it has been every November 11th for the last few decades, except for a brief time in the Seventies when the holiday was moved to October. Veteran’s Day is a national and state holiday in all fifty states, and has had been called Armistice Day and Remembrance Day in the past. The history of Veteran’s Day is an ever evolving one, as it first was a day in which World War I veterans were honored, and then expanded to include the veterans of the many conflicts since.
Veteran’s Day originated after Allied forces were victorious in the First World War. In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Germany and the Allies agreed to an armistice, and when the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, the war was officially over. The next year, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation, declaring that November 11th should be known as Armistice Day and that the day be “filled with solemn pride for those who died in the country’s service.
Britain and France held ceremonies to honor the unknown dead from the “Great War” on November 11th, 1920. The US Congress passed legislation the following year to establish the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with the ceremony falling on November 11th. In 1926, Congress passed a resolution inviting America to observe the day, but it was not yet known as Veteran’s Day. In 1938, an act was approved by Congress that designated November 11th as Armistice Day, a day to honor World War I veterans.
With the advent of another World War in the Forties, and then the Korean War in the early Fifties, millions more veterans were created. Congress bowed to pressure from veterans’ groups and renamed Armistice Day as Veteran’s Day, with the idea coming forth from an observance held in Emporia, Kansas in 1953 that focused on all veterans, not just those of World War I. Its overwhelming success sparked a letter writing campaign that caused Congress to make the change to Veteran’s Day.
The Monday Holiday Law was passed in 1968, taking Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, and Columbus Day and making them part of a long three day weekend by moving them to Mondays. Someone got the not so bright idea to send Veteran’s Day to the fourth Monday in October, and in 1971 it was celebrated there. But the patriotic and historical significance of Veteran’s Day was too great, and the move was scrapped in 1978. Veteran’s Day is now November 11th across the country. Most schools and businesses stay open, but state and federal offices and banks are closed.
The name and day it is celebrated on may have changed over the years, but the original intent of Veteran’s Day has not. Veterans around the country are honored for their service. At eleven in the morning, at the Tomb of the Unknowns, a combined color guard that represents all branches of the American military executes a “Present Arms” at the site. “Taps” are played while the president lays a wreath at the tomb. Moments of silence are observed for those who gave their lives for their nation.
