Veterans Day celebrated each year on November 11th was first celebrated on this same date in 1919 under the name of Armistice Day. The holiday was named in remembrance of the temporary ceasefire that brought about the unofficial end to World War I when the year before the Allied forces entered into an armistice with the Germans stopping live battle on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
A year later and nearly five months after the official end of the First World War (which occurred on June 28 1918 with the Treaty of Versailles) President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th the first commemoration with the following:
To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the countrys service and with the 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…"He called for parades and public gatherings and a brief moment of silence at 11a.m. Two years later on November 11 1921 an unidentified American soldier was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in what became known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Continue reading Veterans Day: The Forgotten History of Americas Veterans Day and What It Commemorates at Ammo.com.
