Thank You Veterans
By Sherri Blevins
Thank you, veterans, for your
service. In honor of Veterans Day, North
Jackson Press (NJP) researched how this special day originated and various
facts related to the American veterans who served and still serve our country
today. NJP extends our sincere thanks to
all veterans for their service to our country. Happy Veterans Day!
NJP obtained the following
information from https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/veterans-day-facts.
Veterans
Day originated as “Armistice Day” on November 11, 1919, the first anniversary
of the end of World War I. Congress
passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Novevmer 11 became a
national holiday beginning in 1938. Unlike
Memorial Day, Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans, living or
dead, but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country
honorably during war or peacetime.
When
Is Veterans Day?
Veterans
Day occurs on November 11 every year in the United States in honor of the
“eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918 that
signaled the end of World War I, known as Armistice Day.
In
1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed
the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
In
1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed by Congress, which moved the
celebration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. The law went into effect in 1971, but in 1975
President Gerald Ford returned Veterans
Day to November 11 due to the important historical significance of the date.
Veterans
Day commemorates veterans of all wars.
Great
Britain, France, Australia, and Canada also commemorate the veterans of World War I and World War II on or near
November 11th: Canada has Remembrance Day, while Britain has Remembrance Sunday
(the second Sunday of November).
In
Europe, Great Britain, and the Commonwealth countries, it is common to observe two minutes of
silence at 11 a.m. every November 11.
Every
Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, Arlington National Cemetery holds an annual
memorial service. The cemetery is home
to the graves of over 400,000 people, most of whom served in the military.
The
military men and women who serve and protect the United States come from all
walks of life; they are parents, children, grandparents, friends, neighbors,
and coworkers, and are an important part of their communities. Here are some facts about the veteran
population of the United States:
18.2
million living veterans served during at
least one war as of 2018.
Nine
% of veterans are women.
Seven
million veterans served during the Vietnam War.
Three
million veterans have served in support of the War on Terrorism.
Of
the 16 million Americans who served during World War II, about
496,777 were still alive as of 2018.
Connecticut
was home to the highest percentage of World War II veterans as of 2018 at 7.1 %.
Two
million veterans served during the Korean War.
As
of 2017, the top three states with the highest
percentage of Veterans were Alaska, Maine, and Montana, respectively.
