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At 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918, a temporary cease fire occurred that was the beginning of the end of World War I, called "the war to end all wars."
Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Since that time, we fought in "the big one" - World War II; in the "police action" of the Korean War; in Vietnam; and in the Middle East.
Each conflict has involved men and women on the front lines, in various capacities as part of the military. These are our veterans.
Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'" As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.
In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean war, Congress, at the urging of the veterans organizations, amended the 1938 law by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
In 1968, the Uniforms Holiday Bill ensured three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day. Under this bill, Veterans Day was moved to the last Monday of October. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holiday on its original date. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971.
Finally on September 20, 1975, President Ford signed a law which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. Since then, the Veterans Day holiday has been observed on November 11.
Please take time today to thank veterans you see and know, and remember what they did for all of us.