10 things to know about Veterans Day

Today marks the day when the United States thanks all of its veterans, but especially those still with us who have served in peacetime and war.

Here are a few things you may not know about Veterans Day.

1. Veterans Day began Nov. 11, 1919, as Armistice Day, celebrating the first anniversary of the end of the fighting in World War I
2. Encyclopedia Britannica estimates the total number of participating personnel in World War I, also known as the “war to end all war,” at 65,038,810. Approximately 9,750,103 soldiers died during the conflict.
3. Armistice Day marked the end of the fighting, but not the official end of the war. That happened months later, on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The harsh conditions exacted in that treaty is seen as a harbinger of World War II in Europe, which started less than 20 years later.
4. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 to officially mark Nov. 11—the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month,”—as a holiday.
5. President Dwight D. Eisenhower changed the name to Veterans Day in 1954.
6. In 1968, the Uniform Holiday Act moved Veterans Day to the third Monday in October; however, President Gerald Ford moved it back to Nov. 11 because of the date’s historical significance.
7. There is no apostrophe in Veterans Day. The day honors all veterans; therefore, it is not Veteran’s Day or Veterans’ Day, which would imply it belongs to one or a group of veterans.
8. It’s not the same as Memorial Day. Veterans Day honors all vets, living or dead, but mostly, it’s a day to thank living veterans for their service in peacetime or war. Memorial Day honors those who have died in uniform, particularly those who died in battle or from wounds received in battle.
9. Other countries also celebrate the day, but under a different name. Canada and Australia celebrate Nov. 11 as Remembrance Day. Great Britain holds Remembrance Day on the Sunday closest to Nov. 11.
10. The last U.S. military veteran of World War I died Feb. 27, 2011, at the age of 110. Frank Buckles enlisted in 1917 at age 16, and rose to the rank of corporal serving with the U.S. Army during the “Great War.” He also served in a civilian capacity during World War II, where he was captured by the Japanese and held prisoner for three years.

“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.”

—President Woodrow Wilson, in his 1919 proclamation marking the day.