If any of you have been keeping up on American Football, you’ll know that 2019 celebrates 100 years of the NFL, but if you watched any of the games last Sunday, you may have also noticed the numerous amounts of camo gear both the players and coaches were wearing. That’s because 2019 also marks the 100th anniversary of Veterans Day. That’s right, Monday, November 19th, 2019 marks 100 years since Veterans Day became a holiday. Well… kind of.
Mainly because Veterans Day wasn’t even called Veterans Day to begin with. Nope, it started as Armistice Day. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 19th Armistice Day to commemorate the agreement signed between the Allies and Germany on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour (make a wish), that ended WWI. But Congress didn’t make it a Federal Holiday until 1938.
As history goes, WWI wasn’t the last war. WWII and Korea followed close behind. So in an effort to include all veterans who have served prior to and after WWI (alive and deceased) Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed the name of Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1958.
So if you figure that about 16 million people fought in WWII, and around 450,000 of those people were still alive in 2019, plus the 18.2 million veterans we have in the US, it’s probably pretty likely that we have known, know, or are a veteran,. And while there is a day dedicated to recognizing and appreciating those who have served our country, we don’t need to wait a full year until the next Veterans Day to go out of our way to thank those individuals.
They put their lives on the line to keep us safe and give us the freedom that we have today, and keep in mind that not just anyone will jump at the idea of doing this. It takes a brave person, a true hero to do accept and uphold this duty.
So whether or not you knew, know, or are a veteran, I ask that you take a moment to show appreciation for our veterans, because without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
So from the bottom of my heart, I’d like to tell every veteran:
“For your bravery, hard work, and dedication to our country, we thank you.”
