Veterans Day is the United States holiday that honors people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, any branch and in any capacity. These veterans have this one day set aside each year to honor their sacrifices and those sacrifices of soldiers who did not live to see another Veteran's day.


Veterans Day is observed each year on November 11. It derives from the ending day of World War I (major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect).


Veterans Day began as Armistice Day and only honored veterans of World War I, or 'The Great War' as it was known before World War II. Armistice Day became Veterans Day holiday only in 1954, though before that it had been used to honor veterans of all the nation's wars. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had led Allied forces to victory in Europe in World War II, signed the bill into law.



Veterans Day is different from Memorial Day in that Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.





2014