Veterans Day - Preserving Historical Significance

n ovem ber 11

Veterans Day Preserving Historical Significance

On Veterans Day we honor all Who answered to a service call.

Soldiers young and soldiers old Fought for freedom, brave and bold.

Some have lived, while others died, And all of them deserve our pride.

We’re proud of all the soldiers who Kept thinking of red, white, and blue.

They fought for us and all our rights.

They fought through many days and nights.

And though we may not know each name, We thank all veterans just the same.

– Cheryl Dyson

Veterans: our nation’s finest who have served, protected and fought on land and sea, and in the air … on U.S. soil and in foreign countries … in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard … and Space Force. We proudly honor every veteran from sea to shining sea as Americans celebrate Veterans Day on November 11.

11:00 on 11.11 It was at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 that the Allied powers signed the armistice to cease fire on the Western Front while the terms of the end of World War I could be discussed to usher in a new era of permanent world peace.

Exactly one year later, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the eleventh day of the eleventh month to be Armistice Day to celebrate the end of the Great War – the war to end all wars. He declared, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

Unfortunately, the war to end all wars did not end all wars, nor was the end of World War I “the final triumph of justice” President Wilson had envisioned. Twenty-one years after the global dust had settled, World War II broke out in Europe in 1939, which ended in 1945 after claiming 405,399 service-related American lives.

Up until that time, Armistice Day had been celebrated in the United States, Great Britain and France. As a result of the valiant efforts of Navy veteran Raymond Weeks, the United States renamed the holiday to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor veterans in both wars, and present-day Veterans Day celebrations also honor U.S. veterans who have served in subsequent conflicts. Countries in the British Commonwealth now call it Remembrance Day, and France continues to celebrate Armistice Day under its original name.

k e y d at e s 1918 An armistice that led

to the end of World

War I was signed by the

Allied powers.

1926 Armistice Day received

its official name through

a U.S. Congressional resolution.

1938 Armistice Day became a

national holiday by a

similar Congressional action.

The Father of Veterans Day:

Raymond Weeks Serving in the Navy gave Raymond Weeks a personal appreciation for the demands and sacrifices of military duty. When Weeks returned home to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1945 after World War II, he envisioned an extension of the Armistice Day holiday to honor all war veterans. The following year, Weeks personally delivered a handwritten note penned to General Dwight Eisenhower, then-Army Chief of Staff, to petition for a National Veterans Day. On November 11, 1947, the first Veterans Day celebration that included a parade and other festivities was held in Birmingham to honor veterans of all the nation’s wars.

Later, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill to make Veterans Day a federal holiday. The designation of Armistice Day was officially changed to Veterans Day by Eisenhower, who became the 34th president of the United States the previous year, when he signed HR7786 into law on June 1, 1954. On October 8 of that year, President Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day Proclamation, which stated, “In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.” In November, the first national Veterans Day holiday was observed.

Dubbed the Father of Veterans Day, Weeks dedicated his life to serving his country. In addition to his unrelenting commitment to honoring war veterans, Weeks served for 38 years as Birmingham’s director of the National Veterans Day Celebration. President Ronald Reagan presented him with the Presidential Citizen Medal on November 11, 1982,

describing Weeks as someone who “devoted his life to serving others, his community, the American veteran, and his nation.”

Weeks won many other medals over the years. In 1966, he was awarded the Army’s Outstanding Distinguished Civilian Service Metal. In 1979, he received the Distinguished Service Medal of Alabama. Reflecting Weeks’ unwavering commitment to honoring those who had selflessly served in the military, he drafted a resolution as a state representative – Weeks served in that role from 1967 to 1974 – that put Alabama on record opposing amnesty for anyone who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War.

Veterans Day is a holiday dedicated to thanking veterans for their service and sacrifice and honoring those, both alive and deceased, who have served in times of war and peace. Many people confuse Veterans Day with Memorial Day, which remembers service members who gave their lives for our country.

Official National Ceremonies The Memorial Amphitheater built around the Tomb of the Unknowns, also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, is the focal point for official Veterans Day national ceremonies. The tomb stands at the top of a hill in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, overlooking Washington, D.C. In 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified World War I soldier at the then-new amphitheater.

Honoring Our Veterans In recognition of the original time and date, a combined color guard representing all branches of the United States Armed Forces executes present arms at the tomb at 11 a.m. on November 11. Numerous other ceremonies are performed at the tomb every year to honor America’s fallen soldiers and show respect for those who have served in the military.

Among them is the Changing of the Guard, an elaborate ceremony every hour on the hour from October 1 to March 3 and every half hour from April 1 to September 30.

As part of official Veterans Day ceremonies, the laying of a presidential wreath pays tribute to our war dead, and a military bugler plays “Taps.”

America’s Veterans: Who They Are Veterans encompass a diverse group of former members of the Armed Forces of the United States – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Space Force.

Under federal law, a U.S. veteran is: n

any person who served honorably on active duty in the armed forces of the United States, including discharges marked “general and under honorable conditions”

n any person who served in the active military, naval or air service of the

United States and was discharged with a service-connected disability sustained while in the service, regardless of how long they served n any

person who has reached 20 years of services, even if they were never activated on a federal order for more than 180 days outside of training

n certain people identified as scouts in the Philippine Commonwealth

Army who served between December 7, 1941, and January 1, 1947 n a member of the National Guard or Reserves who was deployed

under federal orders, completed that deployment and was discharged under honorable conditions n a person who served as a commissioned officer of the Public Health

Service, the Environmental Science Services Administration or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or its predecessor, the Coast and Geodetic Survey n for financial aid purposes, a person who attended a military academy

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are approximately 19 million U.S. veterans as of 2021, slightly less than 10% of the total U.S. adult population.

k e y d at e s 1947 The first celebration

under the name Veterans

Day was held in Alabama

on November 11.

1954 President Eisenhower

signed HR7786 into law,

making Veterans Day a

national holiday.

1975 President Gerald Ford

signed Public Law 94-97

to return the annual

observance of Veterans

Day to its original

November 11 date,

beginning in 1978.

BY THE NUMBERS 11.11 celebration date 19 million vets in the U.S. in 2021 1.4 million vets are at risk of homelessness 9 million veterans are enrolled in the VA healthcare system 10.7% of U.S. veterans live in Alaska 43.92% of American males 75 and older are veterans

BY THE CONFLICT 4.7 million Americans served during World War I 16+ million served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II 1.78 million U.S. soldiers served during the Korean War 2.7 million American served in uniform in the Vietnam War 7.8 million Americans served in the Gulf War era 800,000 U.S. soldiers served in Afghanistan If there was one minute of silence for every American veteran who served in these wars, there would be 23,458 days of silence.

FAST FACTS n

The signing of the armistice occurred during the exceptionally deadly Spanish flu pandemic, also known as the great influenza epidemic and the 1918 influenza pandemic.

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The gruesome warfare and poisonous gases fired by both sides in World War I

created human carnage on the land. Unexploded weapons litter former battlefields, and grounds are saturated with mercury, lead and zinc from millions of rounds of ammunition, making certain European land uninhabitable to this day.

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The observance of Veterans Day originally started with a two-minute suspension

n

n

n

of business at 11:00 a.m., followed by parades and public meetings.

Families with service members fighting on opposing sides experienced tremendous anxiety at the prospect of their loved ones facing each other in battle.

The largest healthcare system in the United States is operated by the Veterans Administration (VA), with more than 1,700 hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities. The American Jobs Plan includes $18 billion to modernize VA facilities, which have a median age of 59 years.

Admission to national parks is free on Veterans Day.

Sources: Department of Veterans Affairs, whitehouse.gov, U.S. Department of Defense, military.com

Hon or ing Ame r ica’s Vete rans S ay thank you F ly the Amer ican f lag (cor rectly!)

Donate to an organiza t ion that prov ide s suppor t and ser v ice s for veterans Hire veterans A sk a veteran about their milit ar y ser v ice Wr ite a letter or postcard to a veteran V isit or voluntee r at a VA hospit al

Scan QR code for more about honoring

America’s veterans

As we observe Veterans Day on November 11, our great nation is preserving historical significance and honoring veterans for their patriotism, willingness to serve, defense of our freedom, love for the United States of America and sacrifice for the common good.

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