THE HISTORY OF VETERANS DAY

November 9, 2022

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Written by Ellen Saum

November 9, 2022

·

Written by Ellen Saum

On November 11, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson celebrated the first Armistice Day in honor of the fallen soldiers of the World War I.
In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge issue annual proclamations on November 11, making Armistice Day a legal holiday.
In 1945, Raymond Weeks a veteran of World War II, suggested to General Dwight Eisenhower that we celebrate all veterans on Armistice Day, not just the ones who died in World War I. Thus, the first Veterans Day celebration was celebrated in Alabama and every year since.
In 1954, Kansas U.S. Representative, Ed Rees, presented a bill to establish the holiday to Congress. President Eisenhower (also from Kansas) signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954.
After World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress amended the Act of 1938 replacing the term ‘Armistice’ with ‘Veterans.’
On June 1, 1954, November 11 became the official day to honor American veterans of all wars. That same year, the National Veterans Award was created and Congressman Rees was the first to be acknowledged for his instrumental assistance in making Veterans Day a federal holiday.
In 1971, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October because of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
On September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law that reverted the observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11th. The change did not take place until November 11, 1978.
In 1982, Raymond Weeks was honored by President Reagan with the Presidential Citizenship Medal and named he was the ‘Father of Veterans Day’ by Elizabeth Dole.
On August 4, 2001, The US Senate Resolution 143 was passed designating the week of November 11 through November 17, 2001, National Veterans Awareness Week. During this time, our students are taught about the selfless contributions, bravery and sacrifices our Veterans made to us to live in “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!”