Veterans Day: history and timeline

inezjwhitehill (25)in #news • 4 years ago

Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans, living or dead, but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country during war or peacetime. Here are notable facts associated with the holiday’s development.

The beginning

• World War I — known at the time as “The Great War” — officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles in France. But fighting had ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

• Veterans Day originated as Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I.

• In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: 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.

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• The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings — and a two-minute suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m.

1920 and 1930s

• On June 4, 1926, Congress officially recognized the end of World War I, and called for an annual observance, when it passed a resolution with these words:

Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and ...

Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and ...

Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday ...

Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.

• On May 13, 1938, Congress approves an act making Nov. 11 an annual federal holiday to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day.

• Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, most states had established Nov. 11 as a legal holiday.

• In 1954 — after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the nation’s history, and after American forces had fought in Korea — Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the 1938 act by replacing the word “Armistice” with “Veterans.”

• On June 1, 1954, with the approval of that legislation, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

• On Oct. 8, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day proclamation, which said of Nov. 11: [To] expand the significance of that commemoration [Armistice Day] and in order that a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation ... let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.

1960s and 1970s

• On June 28, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Holiday Bill to ensure three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays (beyond Labor Day) on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day. The law took effect in 1971.

• It was thought that these extended weekends would encourage travel as well as recreational and cultural activities, and would stimulate industrial and commercial production.

• On Oct. 25, 1971, the first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion, as many states had not agreed with the new law and continued to celebrate the holidays on their original dates.

• By 1975, since the change to the fourth Monday in October, most states had either continued to commemorate Nov. 11 or had reverted to the original date based on popular sentiment.

• On Sept. 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law that returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original historic date of Nov. 11, beginning in 1978.

Of note

• Veterans Day continues to be observed on Nov. 11, regardless of the day of the week on which it falls.

• If the Nov. 11 holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday is observed by the federal government on Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday) or Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday).

• Every Veterans Day and Memorial Day, Arlington National Cemetery holds an annual memorial service. The cemetery contains the graves of more than 400,000 people, most of whom served in the military.

Elsewhere

• Many nations honor the veterans of World War I and World War II on or near Nov. 11.

• France observes Armistice Day on Nov. 11. The blue cornflower is a symbol of remembrance.

• The United Kingdom observes Remembrance Day on the second Sunday of November with parades, services and two minutes of silence to honor those who lost their lives in war. The red poppy is synonymous with the day.

• Canada and Australia have Remembrance Day on Nov. 11. Canada’s observance is fairly similar to that in the U.S.; in Australia, the day is more akin to our Memorial Day.

4 years ago in #news by inezjwhitehill (25)

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Veterans Day: history and timeline

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