The History of Veterans Day
Veterans Day is the federal holiday celebrated each year on November 11th to commemorate and recognize soldiers who have served our country. Veterans Day was given its moniker when fighting between the Allied Nations (Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, the United States and Japan) and Germany in World War I, or The Great War, ceased fighting on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Because of this, “November 11, 1918 is generally regarded as the end of ‘the war to end all wars’”. (US Department of Veterans Affairs)
A year later, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th as Armistice Day. Several years later in May of 1938, an Act was approved that made November 11th each year a legal, federal holiday. While the day was originally dedicated to the soldiers of World War I, after World War II in 1954 required the “greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the nation’s history,” (US Department of Veterans Affairs) President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the holiday to Veterans Day, a holiday to remember American veterans of any and all past, current and future wars.
Things to Keep in Mind This Veterans Day
- Veterans Day is NOT the same as Memorial Day.
Most Americans reference the two holidays, Veterans Day and Memorial Day (celebrated each year on the last Monday of May), synonymously. While the confusion is, for the most part, an honest mistake, some veterans find it frustrating. The difference between the two holidays is that Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor any and all fallen veterans. Veterans Day is a holiday to celebrate ALL veterans, both fallen and alive. - Veterans Day does not have an apostrophe.
This is one of the most common mistakes when it comes to Veterans Day. It is not “Veteran’s Day,” nor is it “Veterans’ Day”. The reason this grammatical error is so important is because the punctuation insinuates the holiday belongs to one veteran or multiple veterans while that’s not the case. Veterans Day honors ALL veterans – period. - Not every veteran has fought in a war.
This is a common misconception. Military members don’t necessarily have to fight overseas to serve their country. Nearly one fourth of living veterans in America only served during peacetime, or when the US was NOT at war. (Pew Research Center)
This year, we challenge you to celebrate any veterans you know or come in contact with every day, not just on November 11th. So visit grandpa, and let him know you recognize the sacrifice he made for his family and his country. Or call your aunt and tell her you appreciate the time she spent in the service of our country.
Military discounts are great, but speaking from experience, veterans appreciate being thanked more than anything. So from all your Buchheit family, veterans, we salute you.
