I always knew Veterans Day was to honor veterans for their service and sacrifice for our country, but never really knew how it was established. So I did some research and found some very interesting facts.
Even though the Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I and was signed on June 28, 1919, the fighting ceased seven months earlier and an armistice (temporary cessation of fighting) went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Therefore, November 11, 1918, is usually regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”
In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day.
An Act approved May 13, 1938, made November 11 each year a legal holiday and “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day.”
While it was initially established to honor veterans of World War I, in 1954 Public Law 380 was approved making November 11 a day to honor American veterans of all wars. Later that same year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed HR7786, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
Please make sure you thank any veteran you may see on November 11 for their “patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good” — which is why Veterans Day was established.
;)
