Veterans Day
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| Veterans Day | |
|---|---|
| Image:Veterans day.jpg | |
| Wolfgang Shultz, an 86-year-old World War I veteran, attends the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982, holding the flag that covered the casket of his son, who had been killed in the Korean War. | |
| Official name | Veterans Day |
| Observed by | United States |
| Type | Federal (and most U.S. states) |
| Significance | Honors the 24.9 million military veterans in the United States |
| Date | November 11 (or nearest weekday) |
| Observances | Parades, school history projects |
Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is celebrated on the same day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.[1]
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[edit] Observance/The Facts
This holiday is Veterans day. Veterans Day is on the 11th of November and is celebrated throughout the US. People from the United States of America celebrate it in their own ways. Celebrating it honors those who fought in various wars.
[edit] Text of Proclamation
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
3071
Whereas it has long been our customs to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace; and Whereas in the intervening years, the United States has been involved in two other great military conflicts, which have added millions of veterans living and dead to the honor rolls of this Nation; and
Whereas the Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926 (44 Stat. 1982), calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies, and later provided in an act approved May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351) , that the eleventh of November should be a legal holiday and should be known as Armistice Day; and
Whereas, in order to expand the significance of that commemoration and in order that a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation, the Congress, by an act approved June 1, 1954 (68 Stat. 168), changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day:
Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America , do hereby call upon all of our citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954 , as Veterans Day. On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.
I also direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag of the United States on all public buildings on Veterans Day.
In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.
Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington this eighth day of October in the Year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-ninth.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER[2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Kristina Sherry. "Apostrophe sparks Veterans Day conundrum", [[|Columbia Missourian]], 2007-Nov-9.
- ^ "History of Veterans Day", VA, 2007"
[edit] References
- History of Veterans Day. United States Department of Veterans Affairs (March 7, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-03.
- The History of Veterans Day. U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) (3 October 2003). Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
- History of Veterans Day. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
[edit] External links
| Holidays Portal |
- Official Website United States Department of Veterans Affairs
- 5 USC 6103 (Federal Holidays) at Cornell University's on-line United States Code
- Veterans of U.S. War
id:Hari Veteran nl:Veterans Day (Amerikaans) ja:復員軍人の日 ru:День ветеранов (США) simple:Veterans Day
