Today is Veterans Day — a day to honor all those who served in the United States Armed Forces. Memorial Day honors those who died while serving.
Veterans Day is an annual holiday on November 11 — it’s celebrated on that date or the nearest workday (Monday or Friday) to that date.
Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the United States, but many other countries celebrate the day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day because November 11 marked the end of World War I. (The World War I armistice was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.)
The National Ceremony is held each year at Arlington National Cemetery, where the President normally gives a speech honoring the veterans.
At 11 am a moment of silence is observed to remember those who served.
At 11 am on November 11, 1918 the fighting during World War I came to an end with the signing of a temporary peace agreement, or armistice. In 1912, President Wilson announced that November 11th would be called Armistice Day in the United States. In 1938, Armistice Day became a national federal holiday. Congress decided that they wanted to honor the veterans of all wars and changed the day to Veterans Day in 1954. Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of November in 1968, but changed back to November 11th in 1978 by President Gerald Ford.
Every day is a good day to remember, but today, especially, we should remember some of the lyrics from the song, God Bless the USA…. “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.”
This is an important day — we don’t know them all, but we owe them all.
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