Veterans Day 2012 – Its History

History of Veterans Day

• 1921 – An unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe).
• These memorial services all took place on November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I at 11:00 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month), which became known as Armistice Day.
• 1926 – Congress invited all Americans to observe Armistice Day, and then officially made it a national holiday in 1938.
• On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Dayto honor all U.S. Veterans.
• 1968 – New legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. However, it soon became apparent that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans so in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.

On Monday, October 12, 2012, starting at 11:00H is one of the largest Verteran Parades in the nation. It has a 2 mile parade route and starts at the Phoenix Veterans Hospital. The parades theme this year is “Healing Wounds, Honoring Their Sacrifice” Hope to see you at the parade.

For all those that are in harms way today, please stay safe.

From a personal perspective:

IN MEMORY

1959 – 1975
KIA –     58,479
MIA –       2,338
Brothers and Sisters Who Never Returned from the Vietnam War
WIA – 304,704

Special mention to those who did not return from my unit – MACV-SOG**

Note: ** Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Special Operation Group
KIA = Killed in Action;  MIA = Missing in Action;  WIA = Wounded in Action