Veterans Day ….. Armistice Day …… Remembrance Day
The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month was chosen as the moment ‘The War to End All Wars’ was to end. After four long, bloody years of warfare never before seen on this planet, World War I came to an end. 
The town of Versailles would go into the history books and soldiers from all nations would return to peacetime activities. Let the healing begin.
By 1919, when President Wilson proclaimed ‘Armistice Day’, 22 American States had already made it a state holiday. In Britain and the Commonwealth countries, it was designated as Remembrance Day. In 1938, Congress officially named it a national holiday. In less than a year, the world would once again be thrown into a global conflict.
By the end of World War II, efforts began to include all veterans in the observance of this holiday. Still, it took until 1954 before the name was officially changed to Veterans Day – by that time America had veterans from the Korean Conflict to add to those who would be honored, in addition to World War II veterans.
After a failed experiment beginning in the early 70’s to consolidate holidays, this observance was moved back to November 11. It is apparent that historical significance of this date is stronger than the desire to have three day weekends.
Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of Veterans Day to November 11 preserves the historical significance of the date and focus’ attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day:
A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
America owes so much to our veterans. To show their appreciation, many businesses offer free-of-charge or discounted products to active-duty and military veterans. Free lunches, free breakfasts, free oil changes, discounted services from retailers and professionals. Kudos to those who support our veterans. KSL.com has a complete list of businesses who are showing their appreciation to veterans.
On a personal note – I was raised thinking it was called Armistice Day. My grandfather narrowly missed heading to war in 1918, due to an illness called the Spanish Influenza. By the time he recovered, the Kaiser was all but defeated. It left a lasting impression on my family that my grandfather could very well have been thrown into that terrible conflagration and Armistice Day was spoken of very reverently. Thank you to all the veterans and a special thank you to my brother who is a veteran of Vietnam, Republic of.
This photograph illustrates the amazing dedication and patriotism of Americas military families. 
Mother, son and future American were inadvertently photographed while they were taking photographs to ‘send to daddy’ who was deployed. The silhouette of this American family tells a great story.
My thanks. Enjoy!
