This Saturday, November 11th is Veteran’s Day and I hope you will observe this holiday by remembering the sacrifices of our military men & women including their families. I would like to share a little bit of history with you regarding this day of remembrance.
June 28, 1919 – Treaty of Versailles was signed, officially ended World War I. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier for that reason, November 11, 1918 , is generally regarded as the end of the war to end all wars.
November 11, 1919 – President Wilson proclaimed the first commemoration of Armistice Day.
June 4, 1926 – United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution.
May 13, 1938 – An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved making the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday.
November 11, 1953 – instead of an Armistice Day program, there was a Veterans’ Day observance. Ed Rees, of Emporia, was so impressed that he introduced a bill into the House to change the name to Veterans’ Day. After this passed, Mr. Rees wrote to all state governors and asked for their approval and cooperation in observing the changed holiday.
May 24, 1954 – The name was changed to Veterans’ Day by Act of Congress.
October 8, 1954 – President Eisenhower called on all citizens to observe the day by remembering the sacrifices of all those who fought so gallantly, and through rededication to the task of promoting an enduring peace. The President referred to the change of name to Veterans’ Day in honor of the servicemen of all America’s wars.
June 28, 1968 – The Uniforms Holiday Bill was signed. The bill intended to insure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day.
September 20th, 1975 – President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978.