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"Veterans Day honors men and women who have served in the United States armed services. Veterans Day is a legal federal holiday throughout the United States. It is celebrated on November 11. Great Britain celebrates November 11 as Armistice Day. It is not a legal holiday, but special observances celebrate the armistice that ended World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. Canada has a legal holiday called Remembrance Day on November 11.
Veterans Day celebrations in
the United States include parades and speeches. Special
services are held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington
National Cemetary, Arlington, Va. In 1919, President Woodrow
Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day to remind Americans
of the tragedies of war. A law adopted in 1938 made the day a
federal holiday. In 1954, Congress changed the name to
Veterans Day to honor all United States veterans. From 1971
through 1977, Veterans Day was celebrated on the fourth Monday in
October." (Raymond Hoyt Jahn, "Veterans Day",The World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 20, Chicago IL,
World Book Inc., 1987, 277)
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"Veterans' Day,Nov.11. Armistice Day was established in 1926 to commemorate the signing in 1918 of the Armistice ending World War I. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all men and women who have served America in its armed forces." (Otto Johnson, "Veterans Day",Information Please Almanac, Boston MA,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997, 588).
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"Armistice Day
Remembrance Day
Veterans Day
November 11
Lest we forget
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
fromIn Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
For more than four years the
war raged on. Then, at 11:00 A.M. on November 11, 1918, the
guns stopped firing. World War I was over-on the eleventh
hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The
armistice-the agreement to end the war-had been signed.
And so November 11 came to be
known as Armistice Day. It is a day on which many nations
honor those who died for their country. In France and Great
Britain, this day is still called Armistice Day. In Canada,
it is called Remembrance Day.
In the United States, November 11 used to be
called Armistice Day. But in 1954, the name was changed to
Veterans Day. It became a time to honor all the men and women
who have served in the nation's armed forces.
Each year, at Arlington
National Cemetary in Virginia, there are special ceremonies.
These begin with two minutes of silence. Then follows the
stirring sound of a bugler playing taps. And a wreath is
placed at the Tomb of the Unknowns-the graves of three unknown
Americans, one from World War I, one from World War II, and one
from the Korean War." ("Lest we forget",1987 Edition Childcraft-The How and Why Library, Volume 9,
Chicago IL, World Book Inc., 1986, 304-305)