Honoring Our Veterans

I'm not sure it's appropriate to say "Happy" Veterans Day... but I wish you well, particularly if you have a day off work because of the holiday.

We owe our Veterans a huge debt of gratitude.  I'm glad we have a day like today to honor them.  It was fun to hear the news this morning when the news anchor began listing all the freebies Vets are entitled to today. Free food and services are just a small way we say 'thank you!'.

World War I officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles in June of 1919, however, all fighting had ceased many months earlier.  An armistice went into effect ending hostilities on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. A year later, in November of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the commemoration of that armistice.

President Woodrow Wilson

"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…"

-President Woodrow Wilson

Many states had already declared November 11th as a legal holiday before an act of Congress officially recognized it as national holiday in 1938.

Although Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, in 1954 - following World War II, which had required the greatest mobilization of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen  in the nation's history, and the struggles of the Korean War, Congress amended the Act of 1938 by changing the word "Armistice" to "Veterans".

This was done at the urging of Veterans service organizations.  So, beginning in 1954, November 11th became a day to honor all American Veterans of all wars.

President and Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower

On October 8, 1954, President Eisenhower issued a "Veterans Day Proclamation" which designated an Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to head up a Veterans Day National Committee to coordinate any national level observance of the holiday.  The Veterans Administration was elevated to a cabinet level department in 1989.

Because of its historical significance, Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11th, regardless of what day of the week it falls.

It continues to be a day to celebrate our freedoms, and especially to honor America's Veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve - and even sacrifice their all - for the common good.

My mother was fiercely proud to be an American, after having endured 4 years of occupation by German forces during World War II in her home country of Norway.  She loved our Veterans and would always donate to the Disabled Veterans organization, citing them as the reason she was still alive and able to come to the United States.

God bless our Veterans!