November 11, 2023
… the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month …
Veterans Day, originally called Armistice Day, is celebrated on November 11 – the anniversary of the unofficial end of WWI – and honors all Americans who served in wartime or peacetime.
On this day in 1918, the fighting in World War I ended; exactly one year later, on November 11, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson dedicated the day to those who served the country, proclaiming: “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 the nations …”
In 1954, the day transitioned from Armistice Day to “Veterans Day to honor veterans of all U.S. wars” (Library of Congress).
Learn more about Veterans Day in our Card Stack below:
History of Veterans Day (United States Department of Veterans Affairs)
This Day in History, November 11, 1918: World War I Ends (American Battle Monuments Commission)
Celebration and death marked last day of World War I at home and in France for New Yorkers (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)
by Leah Grainery, based in Texas
