American Holidays: Veterans Day

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Veterans Day is a day to honor anyone who has served in the military.

In the United States, the military consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard.

Unlike Memorial Day that honors only those who were killed during military service, Veterans Day is a day to honor all those who have served in the military.

• Do you know someone who should be celebrated on Veterans Day?

Learn all about Veteran's Day by watching History of the Holidays: History of Veterans Day | History:

As you learned in the video, something historic happened on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. The opposing sides of World War I reached an armistice, an agreement to stop fighting.

November 11, 1918, became a historic day as one of the deadliest wars in all of history came to an end.

^{Image by Charles Ransom Miller, via Wikimedia Commons, is in the public domain.}

On November 11, 1919, President Wilson called the date Armistice Day and said the day should be for remembering the Americans who served in the war.

Throughout the country, parades were held and a moment of silence was called for at 11 a.m.

By 1926, 27 states had declared November 11 to be a state holiday, and Congress was encouraged to make it a federal holiday. In the summer of 1926, Congress agreed.

November 11 was made Armistice Day, and Americans were encouraged to use the day for prayer and reflection, both for those who had served during World War I and to promote ongoing peace throughout the world.

Armistice Day remained until the 1950s. After World War II and the Korean War, veterans groups began asking Congress to change Armistice Day to commemorate all those who had served in the military.

In 1954, President Eisenhower — who was also a World War II veteran — officially declared that November 11 would be changed from Armistice Day to Veterans Day in honor of all who had served the country.

^{Image by the White House, via Wikimedia Commons, is in the public domain.}

In 1971, the holiday saw a change again when the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed, moving Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October to provide a three-day weekend for federal workers.

This date shift only lasted a few years because many Americans protested the change!

World War I was the first major global war the United States had been a part of, and November 11 was a significant date for many. In 1978, Veterans Day was officially moved back to November 11, no matter what day of the week it fell on.

Today, Veterans Day is celebrated with parades and patriotic festivities.

Some people are given time off work and school. Schools that are still in session usually hold a Veterans Day assembly or patriotic activities throughout the day.

Many national cemeteries — cemeteries where fallen soldiers are laid to rest — hold wreath-laying ceremonies.

• Do you and your family do anything to commemorate Veterans Day?

Now, move on to the Got It? section to learn more about Veterans Day.