By AMAYA EVANS
Photo:A veteran’s memorial outside the student center’s front doors on Northwestern’s campus.
Many people know why we celebrate veterans’ day, but they do not know the full history of veteran’s day. It was originally called “Armistice Day” in 1918.
November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory…” The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.
U.S. Congress officially recognized the end of WWI when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words: “Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far-reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the U.S. of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed…”
An Act (52 Stat, 351: 5 U.S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday – a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor Veterans of WWI.
In 1954, after WWII had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the Veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American Veterans of all wars.
In 1958, the White House advised VA’s General Counsel that the 1954 designation of the VA Administrator as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee applied to all subsequent VA Administrators.
The Uniform Holiday Bill (Public law 90-363 (82 Stat. 250)) was signed on June 28, 1968, and was intended to ensure three-day Weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day.
The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens, and so on 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. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.