Today we dedicated this day to the Veterans. A holiday that is observed annually on November 11th to recognize and honor all the military veterans who have served our country.
Veterans Day is celebrated each year on the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. President Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in June 1919, and said, “To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.”
On June 4, 1926, Congress passed a concurrent resolution that requested that the President issue a proclamation for the day; it also called on officials to display the flag on government buildings, and invited the public “to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.”
On May 13, 1938, Armistice Day became a legal holiday, and was made “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.” In 1945 President Eisenhower made the first proclamation for Veterans Day that year, saying, “Let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us consecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”
Today, almost all businesses and schools will be closed since this day is a federal holiday. We can celebrate and honor this day by thanking the veterans for their service. You can attend a community event in honoring the veterans in your community. Share on social media using #VeteransDay to show our respect and gratitude to the veterans.
1921 Dedication of the Tomb of the Unknowns
Exactly three years after the end of World War I, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated to Arlington Cemetery in Virginia during an Armistice Day ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding.
Two days before, an unknown American soldier, who had fallen somewhere on a World War I battlefield, arrived at the nation’s capital from a military cemetery in France. On Armistice Day, in the presence of President Harding and other government, military, and international dignitaries, the unknown soldier was buried with highest honors beside the Memorial Amphitheater. As the soldier was lowered to his final resting place, a two-inch layer of soil brought from France was placed below his coffin so that he might rest forever atop the earth on which he died.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is considered the most hallowed grave at Arlington Cemetery, America’s most sacred military cemetery. The tombstone itself, designed by sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, was not completed until 1932, when it was unveiled bearing the description “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.” World War I unknown was later joined by the unidentified remains of soldiers from America’s other major 20th century wars and the tomb was put under permanent guard by special military sentinels.
(excerpted from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dedication-of-the-tomb-of-the-unknowns)
