S.J. Prince for
November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States. It’s a federal holiday where we honor those who have dedicated their lives to American freedom. {{more:Read more …}}Veterans Day is the anniversary of the signing of the World War I armistice, which ended the hostilities between the United States and other Allied nations with Germany in 1918. Unlike Memorial Day, which honors those who died in service, Veterans Day is a day set aside for honoring all veterans, living and dead. Veterans Day was started by President Woodrow Wilson in 1918 but it wasn’t adopted by Congress until 1926. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day on before becoming Veterans Day in 1954.
In November 1918 on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a truce was declared between the Allies and Germany, ending World War I, then known as The Great War. President Woodrow Wilson named the day Armistice Day, with the first one to be on November 11, 1919.
Wilson proclaimed Armistice Day in a speech, saying, ?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.?
World War I cost more than 117,00 Americans their lives. The Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended World War I, was signed the following year on June 28, 1919.
Two years later on November 11, 1921, the first unidentified American soldier was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. According to a website dedicated to the Arlington Natiomnal Cemetery, “The bodies of many soldiers killed in World War I could not be identified. To honor them, the remains of one were brought to the U.S. Capitol to lie in state, and on Armistice Day 1921 they were ceremoniously buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
The tomb for the unknown soldier bears the inscription “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.” Later, Congress requested that an unknown soldier from every war?World War II, Vietnam, etc.?be similarly honored.
Following World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day shifted to Veterans Day, honoring all members of the armed services, whether they served in war or peacetime.
US News reports, “There are 21.8 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces as of 2014, according to the Census Bureau, approximately 10 percent of whom are women.” The current population of the United States is around 319 million, making about 7% of the population veterans.
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S.J. Prince lives in New York City and is a senior contributor to Heavy. In his free time he enjoys travel and yoga.
