Today our nation celebrates the men and women who have served our country in our nation's armed forces. As Newsweek explains, Veterans Day has been celebrated since the end of World War I:
Originally called Armistice Day, the holiday was initially intended to commemorate the end of World War I. The war officially ended on June 28, 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed, but fighting ended months prior when the Allied forces and Germany enacted an armistice on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
Since the fighting ended on November 11, 1918, that's when Armistice Day was largely acknowledged, with President Woodrow Wilson being the first to proclaim the holiday.
"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," Wilson said in 1919.
Congress also acknowledged November 11 being the end of the war, making Armistice Day an official holiday in 1938.
More than a decade later, Americans who had served in World War II and the Korean War as well as veterans' groups urged Congress to amend the day to be an overarching holiday honoring all of those who served. Thus, in 1954, Veterans Day was born.
Thank you to all the veterans who have selflessly served our country! We are forever grateful for the sacrifices you and your families have made to protect our freedoms.
To our nation's veterans, thank you for your service and sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/xxpDd0ewtK
— Senate VA Republicans (@SVACGOP) November 11, 2021
Our veterans are our nation’s finest patriots, selflessly sacrificing to protect and preserve American freedoms.
— GOP (@GOP) November 11, 2021
Today we honor America’s veterans for their selfless service and sacrifice.
— RSC (@RepublicanStudy) November 11, 2021
Our nation is the land of the free because of the brave 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Qx0NsoQa67