98 Fun Facts About Veterans Day

What was Veterans Day originally called when it was first established?

Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day, established to commemorate the end of World War I on November 11, 1918.

Which U.S. president signed the legislation that changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day?

Eisenhower signed the 1954 bill that swapped 'Armistice' for 'Veterans', widening the day to honour all American veterans rather than only those of the First World War.

How does Veterans Day differ from Memorial Day?

Memorial Day is the older of the two, having grown out of Civil War commemorations.

At what time of day did the World War I armistice take effect on November 11, 1918?

11:00 a.m. made it the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month; the armistice itself had been agreed at 5:00 a.m. that morning.

Where was the World War I armistice signed on November 11, 1918?

Hostilities on the Western Front ceased at 11 a.m. that morning, but a formal peace treaty was still more than seven months away.

In what year did November 11 officially become a U.S. federal holiday?

An act of Congress passed on May 13, 1938 made November 11 a legal federal holiday; the day's renaming to Veterans Day came later.

Where is the country's main Veterans Day ceremony held each year on November 11?

The national ceremony begins at precisely 11 a.m. and continues inside the Memorial Amphitheater with a parade of colors by veterans' organizations.

How many steps does a Tomb Guard walk before turning at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

Tomb Guards walk 21 steps, then turn and face the Tomb for 21 seconds, about face, and repeat. The number 21 symbolizes the 21-gun salute, the highest military honor.

Since what year has the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier been guarded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

A military guard was first posted at the Tomb in March 1926, but only during daylight hours; the round-the-clock watch began at midnight on July 2, 1937.

Which U.S. Army unit is responsible for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

The 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as 'The Old Guard', has provided the Tomb sentinels since April 1948 and also performs military funerals at Arlington.

What flower is traditionally associated with honoring veterans and fallen soldiers?

Georgia professor Moina Michael championed the emblem after reading the poem, and veterans' associations later trademarked it for fundraising.

Who wrote the famous poem "In Flanders Fields" that inspired the remembrance poppy?

Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields" on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of a friend killed at the Second Battle of Ypres.

Which November 11 observance, also called Poppy Day, is the Commonwealth's counterpart to Veterans Day in Canada, the UK and beyond?

Remembrance Day services typically include the Last Post, a silence, and then Reveille or the Rouse; the US chose the name Veterans Day instead.

In the 1970s Veterans Day was briefly moved to late October under which federal law?

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 put Veterans Day on the fourth Monday of October; many states ignored the change and kept November 11, and Congress later restored the original date.

In what year was Veterans Day first observed on November 11 again after its October period?

Veterans Day moved to the fourth Monday of October in 1971; a law passed in 1975 restored November 11, taking effect in 1978.

Which president first proclaimed November 11, 1919, as Armistice Day?

President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation on November 11, 1919, declaring the first anniversary of the end of World War I as Armistice Day.

Which military branch celebrates its birthday on November 10, just one day before Veterans Day?

The Continental Marines were established on November 10, 1775, and the date is marked every year with a ball and a cake-cutting ceremony.

Which ceremony opens the national Veterans Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery each November 11?

A wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns starts it, and the observance then moves inside the Memorial Amphitheater for a parade of colors and remarks from dignitaries.

The first Unknown Soldier interred at Arlington's Tomb died in which conflict?

The 1921 Unknown was a World War I soldier, chosen by Sergeant Edward Younger from four identical caskets at Châlons-sur-Marne, France, on October 24, 1921.

Which Allied commander accepted the German request for an armistice in November 1918?

Foch had been Supreme Allied Commander only since March 1918, and he appeared just twice during the three days of talks: to ask what the Germans wanted, and to see to the signatures.

What did Raymond Weeks of Birmingham, Alabama propose in 1945 regarding Armistice Day?

Weeks proposed honoring all veterans, not just those of World War I; he led the first such celebration in Birmingham in 1947 and repeated it every year until his death in 1985.

Roughly how many living military veterans did the United States have in 2023?

The Census Bureau's 2023 survey counted about 16 million living U.S. veterans, about 1.7 million of them women, roughly one in nine.

Why do Tomb Guards at Arlington not wear rank insignia on their uniforms?

Tomb Guards do not wear rank insignia so as not to outrank the Unknown Soldiers, whose ranks are unknown. This shows respect regardless of what rank they may have held.

In which U.S. city is the National WWI Museum and Memorial located?

The National WWI Museum and Memorial stands in Kansas City, Missouri, beneath the Liberty Memorial tower, which was dedicated in 1926 and designated the national museum by Congress in 2004.

In which magazine was "In Flanders Fields" first published in 1915?

"In Flanders Fields" was first published on December 8, 1915, in the British magazine Punch after being rejected by The Spectator.

Which country observes November 11 as National Independence Day rather than a veterans' commemoration?

November 11, 1918 was the day Poland regained sovereignty after 123 years of partition by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.

What ceremony takes place daily at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, to honor fallen soldiers?

Buglers from the Last Post Association close the road under the memorial at 8 p.m. every evening, a ceremony first founded in 1928.

In 2023, roughly what share of the U.S. adult civilian population were veterans?

Veterans made up about 6% of the U.S. adult civilian population in 2023; fewer than 1% of them had served in World War II, and about 1.7 million were women.

Which president presided over the interment of the first Unknown Soldier at Arlington in 1921?

President Warren G. Harding presided over the interment on November 11, 1921; at the same ceremony Admiral of the Fleet Lord Beatty presented Britain's Victoria Cross on behalf of King George V.

On which shoulder does a Tomb sentinel carry the rifle while walking the mat?

The sentinel always carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the Tomb, placing the guard between the Tomb and any threat; the weapon changes shoulders at each turn.

Which US military decoration did the World War I Unknown Soldier receive at his 1921 interment at Arlington?

The Medal of Honor sits alongside Britain's Victoria Cross and several other nations' highest decorations, all bestowed on the World War I Unknown.

What three figures are depicted on the marble sarcophagus of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

The east panel carries three Greek figures representing Peace, Victory and Valor; the west panel reads 'Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God'.

Unknown Soldiers from which two conflicts were simultaneously interred at Arlington on May 30, 1958?

Both had lain in the Capitol Rotunda for two days before being carried by caisson to Arlington and interred beside their World War I comrade.

In which city did the practice of the Remembrance Day silence originate, signalled daily by a noon gun?

One minute gave thanks for those who had come home; the second remembered the fallen. King George V adopted the idea for the whole Empire in November 1919.

What percentage of volunteers who apply to become Tomb Guards are ultimately accepted for training?

Fewer than 20% of all volunteers are accepted for training, and of those, only a fraction go on to pass all tests and become full-fledged Tomb Guards.

What flower is Serbia's remembrance symbol for veterans, akin to the poppy elsewhere?

Natalie's ramonda, a purple mountain flower named after Queen Natalija of Serbia, became Serbia's Armistice Day emblem after November 11 was made a national holiday; the plant revives after drying out, symbolising the country's recovery from the First World War.

In France, where is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier located?

France's Unknown Soldier lies beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris; his coffin was placed there on 11 November 1920, and the eternal flame above it was first lit in 1923.

What did the original Armistice Day law declare November 11 should be dedicated to?

The act designated November 11 as 'a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day.'

How many soldiers are estimated to have died on the final day of World War I, after the armistice was signed?

About 2,700 men died on the morning of 11 November 1918 as commanders pressed attacks between the early-morning signing and the ceasefire, part of roughly 10,900 casualties that day.

How often was the WWI armistice prolonged before the peace was finally ratified?

Peace was not ratified until 4:15 p.m. on 10 January 1920, more than a year after the guns fell silent.

Which bugle call is sounded at U.S. military funerals and Veterans Day ceremonies?

'Taps' is the 24-note bugle call sounded at U.S. military funerals; Union general Daniel Butterfield arranged it in July 1862 during the Peninsula Campaign.

Which U.S. holiday, on the third Saturday of May, honors those currently serving in the military?

Armed Forces Day, created in 1949 to replace the separate Army, Navy and Air Force days, falls on the third Saturday in May and honors those serving in the U.S. military.

Which peace treaty, signed on 28 June 1919, formally ended World War I between the Allies and Germany?

The Treaty of Versailles was signed five years to the day after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the spark that set the war off.

What nationality was John McCrae, author of "In Flanders Fields"?

John McCrae was a Canadian physician and soldier. He wrote the poem while serving with the Canadian Expeditionary Force at the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915.

In what year was the marble sarcophagus at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier completed and unveiled?

After a design competition in 1928, the marble superstructure was finished on 9 April 1932 without any formal ceremony.

Which president awarded Alabama organiser Raymond Weeks the Presidential Citizens Medal for founding Veterans Day?

Ronald Reagan honored him at the White House in 1982; Weeks led the first national celebration in Alabama in 1947 and organised one every year until his death in 1985.

By 2023 Census figures, which service period accounts for the most living U.S. veterans?

Vietnam-era veterans were 33% of the total, ahead of the post-9/11 group at 28% and Gulf War veterans at about 25%.

Which president signed the 1975 law that returned Veterans Day to its original date?

Gerald Ford signed Public Law 94-97 on September 20, 1975, restoring November 11; the October Monday observances begun in 1971 had caused 'much confusion' and most states had kept the old date.

Who was nicknamed the "Poppy Lady from France" for organizing the first Poppy Days?

Guérin wanted every Allied nation to sell artificial poppies made by French widows and orphans, funding families of the fallen.

Which Georgia professor vowed in 1918 to always wear a red poppy in remembrance?

Moina Michael answered 'In Flanders Fields' with her own poem, 'We Shall Keep the Faith', and handed out 25 silk poppies at a YMCA conference in November 1918.

What colour poppy did Britain's Co-operative Women's Guild introduce in 1933?

The white poppy, first sold by the Co-operative Women's Guild in 1933, is worn as a pacifist alternative alongside or instead of the red poppy; a purple poppy later appeared for animals killed in war.

Which flower does France wear instead of the poppy to honour its war dead?

France's emblem is the cornflower, the bleuet de France, whose blue echoes the horizon-blue uniforms worn by French infantrymen in the First World War.

What name did the VFW patent in 1924 for the remembrance flower it sells each year?

The VFW registered 'Buddy Poppy' with the U.S. Patent Office in February 1924; it had adopted the French-made poppies in 1922, the year the American Legion briefly switched to the daisy.

The Royal British Legion's Poppy Factory is in which English town?

The Poppy Factory is in Richmond, south-west London; founded in 1922 by Major George Howson to employ disabled ex-servicemen, it moved to Richmond in 1926 and also makes the wreaths laid at the Cenotaph.

In which country are remembrance poppies mostly worn on Anzac Day rather than 11 November?

In New Zealand the poppy is worn on Anzac Day: a 1921 shipment of French poppies arrived too late for Armistice Day, so the first Poppy Day was held just before Anzac Day in April 1922, and the date stuck.

Which South African proposed an annual Empire-wide two-minute silence to London in 1919?

His son had been killed in France in 1917. King George V took up the idea, and the War Cabinet approved it with only Lord Curzon dissenting.

Which mayor began the daily two-minute pause in May 1918 that inspired the Remembrance silence?

Mayor Sir Harry Hands began the pause on 14 May 1918 after his own son was killed; a three-minute trial was judged too long, so he cut it to two — one minute of thanks, one for the fallen.

Which architect designed the Cenotaph on Whitehall, unveiled in 1920?

Edwin Lutyens designed the Cenotaph, first as a temporary wood-and-plaster structure for the July 1919 Peace Day parade; the Portland stone version was unveiled on 11 November 1920, and RIBA gave him its Royal Gold Medal in 1921.

The word "cenotaph" derives from Greek words meaning what?

Cenotaph comes from the Greek kenos (empty) and taphos (tomb): an 'empty tomb'. Most of Britain's war dead were buried near where they fell, so the monument stands for their absence.

Britain's Unknown Warrior was buried on 11 November 1920 in which building?

Westminster Abbey's black Belgian marble gravestone for the Unknown Warrior is the only one in the building that visitors are forbidden to walk on.

Which army chaplain first conceived the idea of the Unknown Warrior in 1916?

The Rev. David Railton had seen a battlefield grave marked only by a rough cross pencilled 'An Unknown British Soldier'; in 1920 he wrote to the Dean of Westminster, Herbert Ryle, who took up the idea.

Which destroyer carried the Unknown Warrior from Boulogne to Dover in November 1920?

Marshal Foch saluted the casket at the quayside, and the ship was joined by six escorting destroyers, including the aptly named HMS Veteran.

The railway carriage used for the 1918 armistice was built for which company?

Dining car 2419D was built for the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits before the war and was requisitioned and fitted out as Marshal Foch's mobile office in 1918.

Who had the 1918 armistice carriage put back on its exact spot for France's 1940 surrender?

Adolf Hitler had the carriage hauled back to the clearing for the 22 June 1940 armistice; he sat in Foch's chair, then walked out of the talks as Foch had done, leaving General Keitel to finish.

What finally became of the original Compiègne armistice carriage?

Wagons-Lits donated an identical sister car from the same series in 1950, and that replacement is what visitors see at the Glade of the Armistice today.

Which German politician headed the delegation that signed the 1918 armistice?

Matthias Erzberger, a Centre Party deputy, led the civilian delegation; he had already sponsored the 1917 Reichstag peace resolution calling for a negotiated peace without annexations.

What fate befell the German civilian who led the 1918 armistice delegation, in 1921?

Two members of Organisation Consul killed him; his role in ending the war had made him a hated figure on the nationalist right.

Henry Gunther, possibly the war's last man killed, died at what time on 11 November 1918?

Private Henry Gunther was shot dead at 10:59 a.m. as he charged a German machine-gun post near Chaumont-devant-Damvillers, despite the Germans trying to wave him off; the Army later restored his sergeant's rank.

Which Kansas town staged the first Veterans Day observance in the United States, in 1953?

Emporia held the first 'Veterans Day' on November 11, 1953 at resident Alvin King's urging; its congressman, Ed Rees, then carried the renaming bill through Congress the following year.

Alvin J. King, who urged Congress to rename Armistice Day, worked in which trade?

Alvin King, a cobbler who ran a small-town Kansas shoe-repair shop, persuaded Representative Ed Rees to introduce the renaming legislation after his town's 1953 celebration.

Why does the VA say the holiday's name takes no apostrophe?

The VA explains that Veterans Day is not a day that 'belongs' to veterans but a day for honoring all veterans, so the attributive plural takes no apostrophe.

US law recommends two minutes of silence on Veterans Day at what Eastern time?

The 2016 Veterans Day Moment of Silence Act sets the pause at 2:11 p.m. Eastern, which is 11:11 a.m. Pacific time, so the whole country can fall silent at once.

In which year did the Veterans' Administration become the US cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs?

The Department of Veterans Affairs gained cabinet rank on March 15, 1989, under a law President Reagan signed in October 1988, making the VA secretary the 14th member of the cabinet.

The Veterans' Administration, which consolidated earlier veterans' agencies, was established in which year?

President Hoover created the Veterans' Administration on July 21, 1930 by merging the Veterans' Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers; benefits themselves date to 1776.

The first G.I. Bill, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, became law in which year?

Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act on June 22, 1944; it covered anyone with 90 days of wartime service and an honorable discharge, offering cheap mortgages, business loans and paid tuition.

The American Legion was founded in March 1919 at a caucus held in which city?

About a thousand officers and men of the American Expeditionary Forces met in Paris on 15–17 March 1919 to form the Legion; a St. Louis caucus followed in May and Congress chartered it that September.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars grew out of societies formed by veterans of which war?

Its earliest ancestor, the American Veterans of Foreign Service, was set up in Columbus, Ohio, on September 29, 1899 by men back from the Spanish–American War in Cuba and the Philippines.

Which cruiser brought the World War I Unknown Soldier home from France in 1921?

USS Olympia, the cruiser that had fought at Manila Bay in 1898, carried the casket from Le Havre to the Washington Navy Yard, arriving on November 9, 1921; the three unchosen unknowns were reburied in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.

The cruiser that carried the WWI Unknown home had been whose flagship at Manila Bay?

Commodore George Dewey commanded from the cruiser's bridge at Manila Bay on 1 May 1898, giving the famous order 'You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.'

How did Sgt. Edward Younger mark his choice of the WWI Unknown from four caskets in 1921?

He chose the second casket from the right at the city hall in Châlons-en-Champagne on October 24, 1921.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier's sarcophagus was quarried in Colorado from which stone?

The sarcophagus is Colorado Yule marble, the same stone that clads the Lincoln Memorial; its 56-ton die block was quarried near the town of Marble in 1931.

Which brothers carved the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier's figures and the seated Lincoln?

The Piccirilli Brothers of the Bronx carved the Tomb's figures under sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, whose design with architect Lorimer Rich had won the 1928 competition; they also cut Daniel Chester French's seated Lincoln.

The six wreaths on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier's side panels came to represent what?

The six wreaths stand for major US battles in France: Ardennes, Belleau Wood, Château-Thierry, Meuse-Argonne, Oise-Aisne and the Somme; each carries 38 leaves and 12 berries.

The Vietnam Unknown, identified by DNA in 1998, was an officer of which service?

The Vietnam Unknown was Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Blassie, an A-37 pilot shot down near An Loc in May 1972; a POW/MIA activist's newsletter and a CBS report forced the 1998 exhumation.

The emptied Vietnam crypt now honours "America's ___ Servicemen 1958–1975." Which word?

Officials decided the crypt would stay vacant as a pledge to account as fully as possible for the missing.

How often is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier guard changed in summer opening hours?

From April through September the guard changes every half-hour during opening hours; from October through March it changes hourly, and overnight while the cemetery is closed every two hours.

The Tomb sentinels' rubber mat is replaced before Veterans Day and which other holiday?

The mat is replaced twice a year, before Memorial Day and before Veterans Day; the guards' shoes have metal plates in the soles, which chew up the rubber and produce the signature heel click.

Which unit's troopers guarded the Tomb before the Old Guard took over in 1948?

The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, the 'Brave Rifles', was posted at neighbouring Fort Myer and provided the Tomb guard until the Old Guard assumed the duty on April 6, 1948, then celebrated as Army Day.

Which two Army badges are rarer than the Tomb Guard Identification Badge?

The Tomb Guard badge ranks third-rarest among Army badges: only the Army Astronaut Badge and the Military Horseman Identification Badge, worn by the Old Guard's Caisson Platoon, have been awarded to fewer soldiers.

Before 1931, Canada's Armistice Day was held on the same Monday as which other holiday?

A 1921 act paired the two; MP Charles Dickie's campaign produced the Remembrance Day name and fixed the observance on 11 November.

In which three of these Canadian provinces is Remembrance Day not a statutory holiday?

Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec (and, by most counts, Nova Scotia) do not make it a statutory holiday; the Royal Canadian Legion itself has opposed a national day off, arguing schools in session can teach children what the day means.

Canada's Unknown Soldier, interred in Ottawa in 2000, came from a grave near which battle?

He was exhumed in May 2000 from Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery near Souchez, close to Vimy Ridge, where Canadian troops fought in April 1917, and reburied at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

Germany's national day of mourning, Volkstrauertag, falls on which Sunday?

Volkstrauertag falls two Sundays before the first Sunday of Advent, in mid-November; the modern form dates from 1952, after the Nazis had replaced the day with Heldengedenktag, a 'heroes' memorial day' in Lent.

The Dutch Veteranendag, held the last Saturday of June, marks the birthday of which royal?

The observance has been organized on his birthday since 2005; the Netherlands mourns its war dead separately on 4 May.

Italy's Armed Forces Day on 4 November marks its 1918 armistice with which power?

The Armistice of Villa Giusti with Austria-Hungary took effect on 4 November 1918, ending fighting on the Italian front a week before the Western Front armistice; the day lost public-holiday status in 1977.

The deadly Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940 struck which part of the United States?

The storm hit the Upper Midwest on 11 November 1940: morning temperatures in the 60s collapsed by about 50 degrees, Collegeville, Minnesota got 27 inches of snow, and dozens of duck hunters froze on the water.

Where were the first official Armistice Day events held on 11 November 1919?

The first official events were held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace on the morning of 11 November 1919, including the first two-minute silence; King George V had hosted a banquet for French president Raymond Poincaré the evening before.

The remembrance phrase "Lest we forget" comes from which Rudyard Kipling poem?

'Recessional', written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, ends four of its five stanzas with 'Lest we forget—lest we forget!' and is sung as a hymn at remembrance services.