Veterans Day, originally called
Armistice Day and commemorating the end of World War I, was established to
honor all who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War I and has
expanded to honor all service members — dead or alive — for their sacrifices,
according to the Department of Defense.
World
War I officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28,
1919, but the fighting actually ended seven months before then, when the Allies
and Germany put into effect an armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of
the 11th month, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Due to
this, Nov. 11, 1918, was largely considered the end of “the war to end all
wars,” and called Armistice Day. Congress officially recognized Nov. 11 as the
end of the war in 1926, declaring it as an official holiday to honor
veterans of World War I in 1938.
When
World War II and the Korean War occurred, various veterans' organizations urged
Congress to alter the meaning of the holiday to be broader and celebrate all
veterans. On June 1, 1954, Congress amended the holiday by changing it from
Armistice Day to Veterans Day, honoring American veterans of all wars.
While Veterans Day is on Nov. 11, it was
celebrated on a different date for a brief period of time.
In 1968, Congress signed the Uniform Holiday
Bill to ensure that a handful of federal holidays — including Veterans Day —
would be celebrated on a Monday, hoping this decision would spur travel and
family activities over a long weekend and stimulate the economy, according to
the Department of Defense.
Under this bill, Veterans Day was set to be
celebrated on the fourth Monday of every October, with the first Veterans Day
under the new bill being held on Oct. 25, 1971.
Most citizens were confused and unhappy about
the change in dates, and many chose to continue celebrating Veterans Day on
Nov. 11. After a few years of contention with the October holiday, former
President Gerald Ford signed another law into effect on Sept. 20, 1975, that
returned Veterans Day to its original Nov. 11 observance, starting in 1978.
Poppies are the flowers commonly used as a
symbol of war remembrance and veteran support.
A poem written by World War I Col. John McCrae,
called “In Flanders Fields,” describes McCrae’s grief over the deaths of
soldiers on Flanders’ battlefields in western Belgium and northern France.
McCrae, a surgeon with Canada’s First Brigade Artillery, had the poem paired
with an image of bright red flowers blooming among rows of white crosses,
serving as a rallying cry to all who fought in the war, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
After the first printed version of the poem
reportedly appeared in December 1915, in the British magazine Punch, it was the
catalyst for two women — Anna E. Guerin and Moina Michael — initiating the sale
of artificial poppies to help orphans and others severely impacted by the war,
according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
From there, efforts to distribute poppies led to
the poppy becoming widely known as the “Flower of Remembrance” in the allied
countries, with it later being adopted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars as the
official memorial flower in 1922.
Today, many see the poppy as a lasting tribute
to all who served the country and sacrificed their lives for freedom.
In Flanders Fields
The poem by John McCrae
In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' Fields.
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