What does Veterans Day celebrate? Veterans Day is held in honor of all those who served in the United States Armed Forces. This is different from Memorial Day which honors those who died while serving.

Who celebrates this day? Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the United States. All non-essential government agencies and many schools are closed for the day. Many other countries celebrate the day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day as November 11th marked the end of World War I.

History of Veterans Day: It was at 11am on November 11, 1918 that a temporary peace, or armistice, was signed and the fighting during World War I came to an end. A year later President Woodrow Wilson announced that November 11th would be called Armistice Day in the United States. In 1938 Armistice Day became a national federal holiday. It was a day dedicated to world peace and held in honor of the veterans of World War I. In 1954 Congress decided to change the day to Veteran’s Day. This was because they wanted to honor the veterans of all wars including World War II and the Korean War. There were a few more changes to the day. In 1968 the day was moved to the fourth Monday of November. However, it was later changed back to November 11th in 1978 by President Gerald Ford.

How many people are veterans? In 2019, there were around 15.78 million male veterans and 1.64 million female veterans in the U.S.

Northlands veterans presented our local Vergennes, VT American Legion with a sign created by Advanced Welding instructor and veteran, Jim Blanchard.  From left to right: Renee Nadeau-Burns (Army), Frank Garrow (Army), Commander Ralph Wenzel of the American Legion, Jim Blanchard (Navy), John Berry (Marines), Donald Lewis (Army), Mike Mills (Army MP), and Gene Woodcock (Army MP).