A history of Veterans Day

Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, a holiday marking the end of fighting in World War I. In 1954, Congress changed it into a day to honor American veterans of all wars. The history explains why the holiday is tied to Nov. 11 and not to a Monday, as some other national holidays are.

The armistice and the first observances

World War I was known at the time as “The Great War.” According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. Fighting had stopped about seven months earlier, when an armistice, a temporary end to hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany took effect. It began on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, so Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of the war.

The Library of Congress says the armistice with Germany was signed at 5:00 a.m. in a railway carriage at Compiègne. It ended the active fighting but not the war itself. The treaty that formally ended the war came the next year.

In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. He said the day would be filled with “solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service.” The Department of Veterans Affairs says the original idea was a day of parades and public meetings, with a brief pause in business starting at 11:00 a.m.

Armistice Day in law, 1926 to 1938

On June 4, 1926, the United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution, a measure passed by both chambers that does not need the president’s signature. It noted that the legislatures of 27 states had already declared Nov. 11 a legal holiday. It asked the president to call for the flag to be displayed on government buildings on that date. It also invited the public to mark the day in schools, churches or other suitable places with ceremonies of friendly relations with other peoples.

A law approved May 13, 1938, made Nov. 11 a legal holiday each year. The Department of Veterans Affairs says the law dedicated the day to the cause of world peace, to be known as “Armistice Day.” It was primarily a day to honor veterans of World War I.

A day for all veterans, 1947 to 1958

The National Archives says Raymond Weeks, a Navy veteran of World War II, organized a day of festivities in Birmingham, Alabama, on Nov. 11, 1947. The day celebrated all veterans who had served in the U.S. armed forces, not only those from World War I. According to the Archives, Weeks sent petitions and letters to Congress and the president asking for a national holiday. Representative Ed Rees of Kansas then introduced a bill to change the day.

The Department of Veterans Affairs says that by 1954 World War II had required the greatest mobilization of troops in the nation’s history, and American forces had also fought in Korea. At the urging of veterans service organizations, the 83rd Congress amended the 1938 act. It struck the word “Armistice” and inserted “Veterans.” With the approval of Public Law 380 on June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

On Oct. 8, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day Proclamation. It named the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs as chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee to coordinate planning at the national level. In 1958, the White House advised the department’s General Counsel that this applied to all later administrators. The department says that since March 1989, when it became a cabinet-level department, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has served as chairman.

The Monday holiday experiment, 1968 to 1978

The Uniform Holiday Bill, Public Law 90-363, was signed on June 28, 1968. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, it was meant to create three-day weekends for federal employees by moving four holidays to Mondays. They were Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day. The department says it was thought that longer weekends would encourage travel, recreation and cultural activities and boost production. Many states disagreed and kept the holidays on their original dates.

The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed on Oct. 25, 1971, with what the department describes as much confusion. The department says the date mattered a great deal to many citizens for historic and patriotic reasons. On Sept. 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97, which returned the observance to Nov. 11 beginning in 1978.

According to the department, the change reflected the wishes of most state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people. It says Veterans Day continues to be observed on Nov. 11 regardless of the day of the week. The department says this keeps the date’s historical significance and the focus on honoring the nation’s veterans.