Veterans Day

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Veterans Day
Joseph Ambrose, an 86-year-old World War I veteran, attends the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982, holding the flag that covered the casket of his son, who had been killed in the Korean War.
Official name	Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in other parts of the world.)
Observed by	United States
Type	Federal (and most U.S. states)
Significance	Honors the 24.9 million military veterans in the United States
Date	November 11 (or nearest weekday)
Observances	Parades, ceremonies honoring local veterans

President Eisenhower signs HR7786, officially changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day.

Image:Veterans day is for old people holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11. However, if it occurs on a Sunday then the following Monday is designated for holiday leave, and if it occurs Saturday then either Saturday or Friday may be so designated.^[1] It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)

The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.^[2]

History

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 12, 1919. The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday; "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."

In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas, shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. King had been actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II. He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11, 1953, to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.^[3]

Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day since.^[4][5]

See also

• Anzac Day
• Armistice Day
• Remembrance Day
• Volkstrauertag

References

External links

• Official Website United States Department of Veterans Affairs
• Marine Corps Veteran Resources
• 5 USC 6103 (Federal Holidays) at Cornell University's on-line United States Code
• Veterans Day UK website - Official website for Veterans Day UK 2008.
• Veterans Week UK - Veterans Week Blackpool
• Veterans of U.S. War

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Veterans Day

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