Is Veterans Day For Everyone Who Served?

The answer is Yes. Veterans Day is for everyone who served or still serving in the United States armed forces, including land, air, and sea.

It is different than Memorial Day. Memorial Day is all about honoring the only veterans who died while serving in the US armed forces, while Veterans Day is about honoring all the veterans; no matter whether are they alive or dead.

The day is observed on the 11th of November every year.

Earlier, the day was dedicated to only the veterans of World War I; back then, the day had a different name, called “Armistice Day”.

But in 1954 on 1st June, the US congress made some amendments to it and decided to dedicate the day to all the veterans of the US armed forces, instead of only World War I veterans.

Why Does Veterans Day Fall On The 11th of November?

11th November is the date when in 1918, Germany signed the armistice and surrendered World War I to the allies, primarily Great Britain, France, and the United States.

A year later, on the 11th of November 1919, allies including the United States celebrated the victory day with the name “Armistice Day”.

But in 1954, the US Congress changed its name to Veterans Day. However, the date, 11th of November remained unchanged.

Therefore, still, we can see, Veterans Day falls on the 11th of November.

Do You Know?

1. Although, Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the United States, both of its stock markets (New York Stock Exchange & Nasdaq) remains open for the whole day.

2. Raymond Weeks, a veteran of World War 2 first raised the issue to dedicate Armistice Day to all US veterans, instead of only World War I veterans. 

3. Veterans Day is a federal holiday. Technically, all federal government offices should remain closed.

However, some workers needed to work under any circumstances.

These federal government workers get paid extra money for the day in addition to their wages.