Here’s how Veterans Day came to be known as Armistice Day in the first place.
Parades, ceremonies, and a much-needed day off are all on the agenda. Veterans Day is one of the nation’s 12 Congressionally recognised federal holidays, which is honoured on November 11 each year. The event is separate from Memorial Day, which arose from a Civil War-era custom of placing flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers. While Memorial Day remembers those who have died while serving in the military, Veterans Day honours both the living and the dead.
However, not all military veterans were honoured on Veterans Day. It was once called as Armistice Day, and it has origins in one of history’s most catastrophic battles. Here’s how the holiday developed from a day of wartime sadness to a commemoration of all Americans who served in the military. (These were the bloodiest battles in history.)
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Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time on November 11th, 1918.
The origins of the holiday may be traced back to the late days of 1918, when a weary globe started to look toward the conclusion of the “Great War.” World War I destroyed European landscapes, ushered in the use of lethal new technology such as poison gas, and ensnared more than 30 countries over the course of four years. Many of the belligerent nations’ governments had been toppled by revolutions, and an influenza epidemic had swept the globe.
After a protracted period of stalemate, the United States joined the war, and the Allies began a decisive attack. The Allies’ requirements were harsh, but Germany was unable to object. Finally, an armistice was signed on November 11 at 11:00 a.m. Paris time.
Although Globe War I was concluded, the world was still reeling from its losses. Across 10 million men were killed in battle, with another 20 million injured around the globe. The United States had just entered the war in 1917, but it had already lost over 116,000 dead and suffered 320,000 additional losses. Individuals losses were particularly painful for those whose loved ones were buried in over 2,300 makeshift cemeteries throughout Europe.
A year after the armistice
Americans began making preparations to commemorate the event around the country. Governors from throughout the country have announced legal holidays. Veterans’ clubs and groups around the nation planned events, religious services, and fundraisers for the American Red Cross to mark the anniversary. The New York Times reported on November 11, 1919, that people all across the globe will observe a minute of silence at 11:00 a.m.
In honour of the milestone, President Woodrow Wilson sent a greeting. “Armistice Day thoughts in America will be filled with sombre pride in the valour of those who died in the country’s service, and with thankfulness for the triumph,” he wrote.
Armistice Day has changed throughout time.
Many people wanted to remember the war, so the ceremonies became an annual celebration, and by 1926, the United States Congress had passed a resolution asking President Calvin Coolidge to make yearly Armistice Day proclamations. By act of Congress in 1938, November 11 was declared Armistice Day in the United States, with the day being “dedicated to the cause of global peace.”
However, international peace has eluded us. Despite the fact that Globe War I was termed “the war to end all wars,” the world was once again engulfed in violence. In 1941, the United States joined World War II, which would become the world’s worst war. Over 291,000 American troops were killed in war, with another 670,000 injured. In 1950, the Korean War broke out, killing approximately 34,000 American troops and injuring another 103,000.
(All sides agree that war is horrible 75 years after the Nazis surrendered.)
Because most soldiers were born after World War I ended, Armistice Day had began to seem antiquated by that time. In 1953, Alvin J. King, a cobbler from Emporia, Kansas, who had lost a nephew in WWII, petitioned the city to rename the festival to commemorate all veterans. Veterans Day was observed on November 11 that year instead.
Edward H. Rees, a member of the United States Congress from Emporia, took up the cause and sought a federal name change. During a Congressional hearing on the topic, Rees remarked, “Unfortunately, Armistice Day is not being honoured the way it ought to be observed.” The holiday would “recognise the reality that millions of United States soldiers have fought and died under the flag of the United States in the pursuit of international peace before and since World War I.”
The name change was made official in 1954 when Congress consented.
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act is a federal law that establishes a set of
Following pressure from a combination of travel and tourist organisations that contended that additional three-day weekends would improve the economy, Congress approved a bill in 1968 that relocated four federal holidays, including Veterans Day, to Monday. President Lyndon B. Johnson stated in a statement after signing the bill that it would “let Americans enjoy more fully the nation that is their glorious heritage,” see their family, and travel farther.
Veterans’ organisations were outraged by the action. “We see this as a statutory omission.”
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source: nationalgeographic
