Veterans Day: 100 Years of Honoring Veterans’ Sacrifices

United States military veterans hold a special place in the hearts of Americans. Certainly, the sacrifices that veterans make on behalf of all Americans are worth celebrating and as a nation, we have been honoring our vets for over 100 years.

We may honor those service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice on Memorial Day; Veterans Day is for the living — a celebration of life, camaraderie, esprit de corps and triumph in the face of hardships.

Honoring the War to End All Wars

World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. However, seven months earlier, the guns fell silent when the Allies and Central Powers agreed to an armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

As a result, November 11 was officially designated as Armistice Day to celebrate the end of the Great War, as it was often called. Until 1945, Armistice Day was a celebration of world peace. After World War II, veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, got the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans of all U.S. wars.

The idea caught on. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill into law that replaced the word “armistice” with “veterans,” and it has been known as Veterans Day ever since.

There was a time, however, when being a veteran was not necessarily a badge of honor. During the Vietnam War and for years after, many Americans…