20 Facts About Veterans Day: Honoring Those Who Served

ByKim Richmond Hours Updated Categories Time & Calendar

Every November 11, the United States pauses to honor the men and women who have worn its uniform. These facts about Veterans Day trace the holiday from its roots in the aftermath of World War I — the missing apostrophe, the 1954 name change, the ceremonies at Arlington — to the parades and moments of gratitude observed across the country today.

Veterans Day Facts At-a-Glance

Date: November 11
Also Known As: Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day)
Commemorates: All U.S. military veterans, living and deceased
Federal Holiday Since: 1938 as Armistice Day; expanded in 1954 as Veterans Day
Key Location: Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington National Cemetery
Typical Observances: Ceremonies, parades, moments of silence, and school events
Symbols: American flags, military insignia, poppies, and wreaths
Sources: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, History, Britannica

From Armistice to National Holiday: The Origins of Veterans Day

Pair of worn military boots on grass for Veterans Day tribute.
Worn military boots symbolize service and sacrifice for Veterans Day observance.

Veterans Day did not begin as a celebration of all who served — it started as a single, solemn anniversary tied to the end of the deadliest war the world had yet seen.

  1. Veterans Day traces its roots to Armistice Day, first observed on November 11, 1919, to mark the one-year anniversary of the ceasefire that ended World War I — a truce that took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.
  2. Two years after the armistice, in 1921, an unidentified American soldier who died in WWI was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery as part of the Armistice Day commemoration, echoing similar ceremonies held that year in Italy and Portugal and following the 1920 interments of unknown soldiers at Westminster Abbey in London and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

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  1. Recognizing the growing importance of the annual observance, Congress passed a resolution in 1926 calling for a nationwide Armistice Day commemoration each year, a step that set the stage for the holiday’s formal federal designation.
  2. That formal designation arrived in 1938, when November 11 was officially enshrined as a federal holiday under the name Armistice Day, giving the annual observance the full weight of law for the first time.
  3. The push to broaden the holiday beyond WWI began at the grassroots level: in 1947, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks organized the first celebration explicitly called “National Veterans Day” in Birmingham, Alabama, complete with a parade and festivities. Often called the “Father of Veterans Day,” Weeks was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Reagan in 1982 for his efforts.

Suggested Read: Facts About The United States

The Name Change and the Law: Veterans Day’s Legal Journey

US veteran among American flags
A senior veteran pays tribute during a patriotic ceremony with American flags in the background.

The holiday’s legal history is surprisingly eventful, shaped by presidential action, a controversial scheduling experiment, and a course correction driven by public sentiment.

  1. In 1954, President Eisenhower signed legislation officially renaming Armistice Day to Veterans Day, transforming the holiday from a WWI-specific commemoration into a day honoring Americans who have served in all of the nation’s wars.
  2. The 1968 Uniform Holidays Bill moved Veterans Day from November 11 to the fourth Monday in October in an effort to create more three-day weekends, but the change proved deeply unpopular; President Gerald Ford restored the original November 11 date in 1975, citing its profound historical significance.
  3. Today, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management governs federal government closures on Veterans Day, while state agencies, local governments, and private employers each set their own holiday policies independently.

What Veterans Day Means — and How It Differs from Memorial Day

Understanding Veterans Day requires knowing what it is not, and a few surprising details about its name and scope help clarify the holiday’s distinct identity.

  1. Veterans Day and Memorial Day are often confused, but they serve different purposes: Memorial Day honors military personnel who died while serving, whereas Veterans Day extends gratitude to all who served honorably — in wartime or peacetime, living or deceased.

Suggested Read: 25 Facts About Memorial Day: Honoring America’s Fallen

  1. Even the holiday’s spelling carries meaning — the correct form is Veterans Day with no apostrophe, because the day is intended to honor veterans as a group rather than to denote something belonging to them.
  2. Unlike some federal holidays that float to the nearest Monday, Veterans Day is officially observed on November 11 every year regardless of the day of the week, though many communities shift parades and public events to the nearest weekend to encourage broader participation.
  3. New York City hosts the nation’s oldest and largest Veterans Day parade, which runs up Fifth Avenue. The first was held in 1919, making it as old as the Armistice Day observance itself.

Ceremonies, Symbols, and Traditions

Veterans Day parade
Group of soldiers in camouflage uniforms marching in formation, honoring military service and veterans.

The rituals associated with Veterans Day range from solemn national ceremonies to internationally recognized symbols with roots in the poetry of the Western Front.

  1. Each Veterans Day, formal ceremonies are held at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, and floral tributes are placed on graves and memorials at sites across the country.
  2. Britain, Commonwealth nations, and many European countries observe two minutes of silence at exactly 11:00 a.m. on November 11 each year, honoring the precise moment the WWI armistice came into effect.
  3. In 2016, President Obama signed the Veterans Day Moment of Silence Act, which calls for a two-minute national moment of silence at 2:11 p.m. EST each November 11 — a distinct observance from the 11:00 a.m. silence marked in Britain and Commonwealth nations.
  4. The red poppy became linked to WWI remembrance through John McCrae’s 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields,” and paper poppies are sold in several countries to support veterans; in the United States, however, wearing poppies is traditionally associated with Memorial Day rather than Veterans Day.

Veterans Day Around the World

November 11 resonates far beyond U.S. borders, observed by allied nations that share the memory of the wars that gave the date its meaning.

  1. Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and France all mark November 11 as Remembrance Day, honoring veterans of both World Wars, though the specific traditions and the scope of each country’s observance differ from the American celebration.

Modern Observance: Who We Honor Today

Thank you veterans message on blackboard with American flags.
A heartfelt thank you to all veterans, displayed with patriotic American flags for Veterans Day.

Veterans Day has grown to reflect the full diversity of those who have served, and several contemporary observances underscore just how much the face of the American veteran has changed.

  1. Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, only approximately 45,418 remained alive as of 2025, a figure that lends particular urgency to honoring surviving veterans while they are still with us.
  2. More than 11 percent of living U.S. veterans are women, a statistic that reflects the increasingly significant role women have played in the American armed forces across recent decades.
  3. Naturalization ceremonies for new U.S. citizens have become a meaningful part of Veterans Day observances in many communities, weaving together the themes of military service and the ongoing promise of national belonging.

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