Veterans' Day

Rico says we must remember what they did for us...

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the Allies and Central Powers signed an armistice agreement that enacted a temporary cessation of major hostilities in World War One. Twenty years later, 11 November was designated a Federal holiday, known as Armistice Day. While the date was originally intended to honor veterans of World War One, following the huge mobilization of service personnel during World War Two and the Korean War, veterans groups pushed Congress to rename the day 'Veterans' Day.' On 1 June 1954, the change was approved.
Unlike Memorial Day, which honors troops killed in battle (or who died later from their wounds), Veterans' Day commemorates all American veterans, whether they served during wartime or peacetime. To acknowledge all who have served, the Veterans Day National Ceremony is held each year at precisely 11 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery (photo). The observance begins with the laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The occasion is also marked by parades, and in many places the American flag is hung at half-mast.