On Tuesday, November 11, we will again honor the service of our nation’s military veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces.
It is right and proper that Americans remember and pay tribute to the men and women who have and continue to defend our great country. We honor their love of country and patriotism.
Originally known as Armistice Day, November 11, was proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson for November 11, 1919. It was the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I.
In 1945 in Birmingham, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks had the idea of a national holiday that would honor all war veterans, living and dead, to be celebrated on Armistice Day. Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947 a parade in downtown Birmingham.
Weeks is honored as the “Father of Veterans Day.”
Emporia, Kansas, resident Al King in 1953 had the idea to expand Armistice Day to honor all veterans.
A bill for the national holiday was approved by the United States Congress in 1954 and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 26, 1954.
The National Veterans Award was also created in 1954.
Let us never forget the service and sacrifices made by our nation’s veterans during wartime and peacetime.