What Are Some Facts About Veterans Day?

Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11th. Another fact is that Congress has stated that they official name of the day is “Veterans Day,” without an apostrophe. There are many other interesting facts about Veterans Day.

Veterans Day is a day to honor all living military veterans.

• It is observed on November 11th and was originally called Armistice Day. 
• The first Armistice Day was Nov. 11, 1919, which was one year after the end of World War I.

History of Veterans Day

Following are facts about the history of Veterans Day. 

• An armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities temporarily, was signed by the Allied nations and Germany and went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year 1918. 
• That date is considered the end of World War I, which was supposed to the war to end all wars. 
• The war was officially over when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 near the town of Versailles, France. 
• The next year, President Woodrow Wilson enacted the first Armistice Day on the day the armistice was signed. 
• Soon, 27 states had made the day a legal holiday and Congress passed a resolution on June 4, 1926 that the day be commemorated and asked the president to proclaim the holiday. 
• On May 13, 1938, the Act was approved that made November 11th a national holiday called Armistice Day. 
• It was at first intended to honor the veterans of World War I, but after World War II, Congress amended the Act and changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. 
• This was approved on June 1, 1954 and later that year, the Veterans Day National Committee was formed to coordinate on a national level the observance of Veterans Day. 
• When the Uniform Holiday Bill was passed in 1968, four holidays had their days changed to a Monday; Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. This was done to give people a three day weekend and encourage travel and recreational activities.
• The first Veterans Day after that was observed on October 25, 1971 and was not well received at all by the public. So beginning in 1978, it went back to its original day.

All About the Vets Honored

Here are facts about Veterans Day concerning the number of veterans we honor on Veterans Day. 

• As of 2009, there were 21.9 million veterans
• 1.5 million of those are female
• 2.3 million are black
• 1.1 million are Hispanic
• As of 2008, 9.2 million are 65 years old or older and 1.9 million are younger than 35 years old
• As to the number of veterans that served in each war, 35% of them, 7.6 million, served during the Vietnam War
• Other figures are: 4.5 million in the Gulf War, 2.3 million in World War II, 2.7 million in the Korean War, and 47,000 served during the Vietnam era and the Gulf War era
• Of the 27.1 million businesses in 2007, veterans owned 9% of them, or 2.4 million. 
• Veterans earn more than their civilian counterparts. 
• In 2005, woman veterans earned an average of $32,217 compared to the average $27,272 earned by women with no military experience. 
• In 2005, male veterans earned $42,128 compared to the average $39,880 earned by men with no military experience. 

Veterans Versus Memorial Day

Some people get confused between Veterans Day and Memorial Day.  Veterans Day was set aside to honor living veterans and Memorial Day was set aside to honor military personnel that died serving their country, especially if they died in battle or battle-related injuries. Red poppies are traditionally sold and worn on Memorial Day.