Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Honoring Veterans November 11th every year (National Holiday)



President Eisenhower signing HR7786, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
President Eisenhower changed
Armistice Day to Veterans Day, 10/8/1954.
.... "An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first "Veterans Day Proclamation" which stated: "In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.

..... Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps 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."   Note:  photograph from this article.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

2 comments:

The Ghost of Freedom said...

I would recommend that in honor of today and the men who served, you catch a few minutes of "Saving Private Ryan", playing most of the day on AMC. While you are watching, ask yourself, "Are we as free today as we were in the day these brave men were sacrificing their lives for our freedom?" Perhaps you are too politically correct to approach this question objectively, but realize that there are at least a few of us out here wondering what has gone wrong?

Anonymous said...

What has gone wrong? Just an overload of Chicken Littles screaming that the sky is falling and a whole lot of others whispering (and sometimes shouting) their conspiracy theories. Take all of that away (as in don't believe everything you hear) and think things through for yourself and you should be just fine.