The holiday honours all veterans of the United States armed forces.
A traditional observation is a moment of silence at 11 AM remembering those who fought for peace. (Commemorates the cease-fire in the 1918 armistice which was scheduled for “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.”)
The last soldier killed in action in World War I is generally acknowledged to be an American called Henry Gunther from Baltimore. He was killed 60 seconds before the armistice came into force while charging German troops who knew that the Armistice was imminent. It was said that Gunther had been despondent over a recent reduction in rank and was trying to redeem his reputation.
The day of recognition for Veterans of the Great War (World War I) on this date was first proclaimed by President Wilson on November 11th 1919. In May 1938, the 11th of November in each year was declared a legal holiday and was known as ‘Armistice Day’.
The war which claimed the most American lives was the Civil war, with over 618,000 deaths, compared to 416,000 in World War II.
In 1953, a shoe store owner named Al King started a campaign that the day should celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War 1, suggesting it should be renamed ‘All’ Veterans Day.
Al’s idea was taken up by his local Chamber of Commerce and then by a local congressman, who helped push a bill for the holiday through Congress. President Eisenhower signed it into law and in May 1954, Congress amended the law and officially replaced ‘Armistice’ with ‘Veterans’.
The Uniforms 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.
It was thought that these extended weekends would encourage travel, recreational and cultural activities and stimulate greater industrial and commercial production.
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act stipulated that Veterans Day should be observed on the fourth Monday of October. However, veterans’ groups opposed the change and most states kept their Veterans Day commemorations on November 11th. On Sept. 20, 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 Nov. 11, beginning in 1978.