On the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month...

...the Armistice took effect. The Great War was over. The Allies were victorious, and the World would once again be at peace. In Europe, foes came together and shared cigarettes, stories, comradeship, and wine. The people rejoiced. 

In the US, this day would be celebrated as a national holiday. Armistice Day, as it was called was recognized a year later by President Woodrow Wilson, who wrote a message that said,

ADDRESS TO FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN

The White House, November 11, 1919.

A year ago today our enemies laid down their arms in accordance with an armistice which rendered them impotent to renew hostilities, and gave to the world an assured opportunity to reconstruct its shattered order and to work out in peace a new and juster set of international relations. The soldiers and people of the European Allies had fought and endured for more than four years to uphold the barrier of civilization against the aggressions of armed force. We ourselves had been in the conflict something more than a year and a half.

With splendid forgetfulness of mere personal concerns, we remodeled our industries, concentrated our financial resources, increased our agricultural output, and assembled a great army, so that at the last our power was a decisive factor in the victory. We were able to bring the vast resources, material and moral, of a great and free people to the assistance of our associates in Europe who had suffered and sacrificed without limit in the cause for which we fought.

Out of this victory there arose new possibilities of political freedom and economic concert. The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for high purposes, and the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquests which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of men.

To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.

WOODROW WILSON. 

The Tradition was established. Armistice Day would be celebrated annually until 1947.

In 1945, WWII veteran Raymond Weeks had the idea to expand the holiday to celebrate all veterans from all wars. Weeks formed a delegation and presented his idea to General Eisenhower. Ike was in favor of a National Veterans Day. 

Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947, and did so every year until he died in 1985. Elizabeth Dole declared that Weeks was “the Father of Veterans Day.” 

A bill establishing Veterans Day as a national holiday passed in Congress. On May 26, 1954 now President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill into law. Veterans Day was now officially recognized as a national holiday. Congress amended the bill on June 1, replaced the word “Armistice” with “Veterans”, and officially created the day that we now celebrate as Veterans Day.

At various times and for various reasons, the day of the actual Veterans Day observance was changed, but in 1978 it was officially changed back to November 11. It has remained on that day ever since. 

If you see a veteran, thank him or her for their service. We couldn’t be who we are today if they weren’t who they were when called to serve. 

To Mike Nugent, Mike Conklin, Kayla Kreeger, Bob Klokis, Nick “Gunny Pop” Popaditch, CJ Brucker, Shawn Brucker, Rob Field, Chad Sokol, Chuck Van Voorhis II, Dale Dye, Ken Dickson, Little Chad Sokol, Laura Garver, Patrick Gorman, and every other veteran I know, I say  thank you! God bless you!