Veterans Day; Honoring the fallen

Image
  • Diego Lopez - CC The Veterans Day wreath is laid on the monument in Veterans Park on Nov. 11, as a socially distanced crowd of veterans and their families watched.
    Diego Lopez - CC The Veterans Day wreath is laid on the monument in Veterans Park on Nov. 11, as a socially distanced crowd of veterans and their families watched.
Body

GRANTS, N.M. - A handful of veterans joined a small gathering on November 11 to commemorate Veterans Day.

The event, which is held every year on November 11 at 11 a.m. at Veterans Park [formerly Friendship Park] in Grants, New Mexico, saw veterans and their families from across the county come together to give thanks to veterans for their sacrifice.

Families of the veterans presented a wreath to the monument at the park. The wreath, a celebration of the United States veterans, adorned the monument with red, white, and blue.

Veterans and their families watched as the wreath was placed in honor of their sacrifice, most of the socially distanced onlookers wore masks and adhered to COVID-19 restrictions.

History of Veterans Day

Fighting during World War I — then known as The Great War — came to an official end with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Fighting had ended just seven months earlier, however, so the armistice was known to have taken effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, or Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. in the year 1918. This moment was regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars,” according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

In November 1919 President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 the first commemoration of Armistice Day, a holiday celebrated across the world, according to the VA. Congress later passed an act that made Nov. 11 a legal holiday.

In 1954, after World War II, the Korean conflict and other global issues, veterans’ rights groups lobbied the United States Congress to amend the act by eliminating the word “armistice,” replacing it with “veterans.” On June 1, 1954, the act was officially signed into law and Veterans Day was celebrated for the first time that year.

On October 8 of 1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the very first Veterans Day Proclamation which read, “In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.”

Later that day President Eisenhower sent a letter to the new members of the

Veterans Day National Committee.

Due to this, the very first Veterans Day was observed on Oct. 25, 1971. This led to great confusion among the general population, so on Sept. 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a public law that returned observance of Veterans Day to Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.