Veterans Day is a great story and an important Holiday in America. I would encourage you to share this information with family, friends, and co-workers as we Honor our Veterans this weekend.
This information is taken from a presentation I’ve created and given on Veterans Day at work, schools, and Civil Air Patrol. I hope you find it informative.
History – Origin
- Originally Armistice Day: marks the armistice 11th: Month, Day, Hour in 1918
- Holiday in other countries as well
- Observed with parades and public meetings
- Legal holiday in 1938
- Name change: Veterans Day in the USA on May 26, 1954
- Remembrance Day in other countries
- Slide notes
- To understand Veterans Day, we need to look at it in overall context of WWI
- WWI was the largest war that the USA had fought in, since the Civil War and it was the first worldwide military conflict.
- Originally called Armistice Days, it marks the armistice signed between the Allies of WWI and Germany for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front.
- Always observed on the 11th Day of the 11th Month (at 11th hour).
- Celebrated in Canada, England, New Zealand, France and other countries
- Concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business at 11 AM.
- Made a legal holiday in 1938 (20 years later).
- Oct 19, 2018 · On May 26, 1954, the U.S. Congress passed, and Pres. Eisenhower signed, a bill expanding Armistice Day to be a day of recognition of all veterans of the U.S. armed forces rather … than only those served in WW I
Interesting Facts
- Meaning is different in and outside of USA
- Uniform Holiday Bill passed in 1968:
- Three Day weekend
- October 25, 1971
- Created confusion
- Changed back in 1975
- Daylight Saving Time
- Worldwide Influenza Pandemic of 1918 (1918 – 1920)
Slide notes
o Outside of USA, it specifically for honoring those killed in action
o In USA, set aside to thank and honor all who served honorably in the military in wartime or peacetime, living or dead.
o Uniform Holiday bill in 1968 passed to make Washington’s BD, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day; all three-day weekends.
- Encourage travel, recreational, cultural activities, and encourage industrial/commercial production (spend money)
- Changed Veterans Day to Oct 25, 1971 the first time
- Created confusion
- Changed back to original date in 1975.
o Daylight Saving Time was started in WWI to provide more evening working hours and save fuel.
o Approx. 50M to 100M people killed by the flu in 1918 – 1920
- Influenza Pandemic killed 675,000 Americans verses 53,513 soldiers killed in action
- In the USA, 100,000 died in October 1918.
- India lost about 17M or 5% of population.
USA Veteran Population
- 18.2 million living veterans (8% of adult population)
- 9.2 million living veterans over the age of 65
- 1.6 million living veterans under the age of 35
- 1.6 million living veterans are women
- 7.1 million veterans served the Gulf War Era (August 1990 to Present)
- 8.7 million veterans served the Vietnam War
- 5.7 million veterans served the Korean War
- 16.1 million veterans served World War II
- 4.7 million veterans served World War I
- 497,777 living WW II veterans (over 300 passing each day)
- If you ever meet a WWII veteran, take them out for meal and invite your family to attend. So, everyone can hear their stories. They have been called the GI generation. The greatest generation ever born as they lived through the Depression and WWII. They have stories to tell.
- Last WW I veteran -Frank Buckles- passed in 2011 (age 110)
Colorado Springs for Veterans
- Ranked Best Place out of 600 cites looked at for Veterans to live in 2019 by Military Times Reboot Camp,
- 38,500 active duty, 109,000 Veterans, and 16,000 DOD workers live in the Pikes Peak Region
- 5th Congressional has highest concentration of Veterans of any district in the country
- Five Bases: Fort Carson, Peterson and Schriever Air Force Bases, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, and the Air Force Academy
- Veterans Day Parade is one of the largest in the Nation
- Pikes Peak National Cemetery
Life Lessons
- Push for complete closure in everything you do
- An armistice is a cease fire, not a complete closure
- North & South Korea signed an armistice in 1953 and there is still tension. We are still officially at war with North Korea.
- Don’t over react in declaring a victory
- Penalties placed on Germany after WWI, set the stage for WWII. Verses the Marshall Plan after WWII to rebuild it.
- Be nice to your relatives
- Kings of England, Germany, & Russia were all first cousins
- In simple terms, World War I was started when the Arch Duke of Austria-Hungary and his wife visited Serbia in 1914 and they were assassinated. Austria-Hungary could have sent in a SEAL team and taken out the assassins and associates. But instead they invaded Serbia, alliances kicked in and we ended up with a World War and 16 million deaths.
- What is the cost of your alliances/friendships/business partnerships? How far will you go?
- How far will you go?
- Where is the line in the sand?
- When will you cross over that line?
- Understand the reasons behind the reason
- As late as 1910, about nine percent of the American population had been born in Germany or was of German parentage 2.3 Million Germans immigrated between 1881 to 1910.
- Many Americans didn’t want to be in the War because they had immediate family in Germany. My Grandfather came to America in 1907 from Germany (was 24 in 1917)
- Are you prepared for what is next in your life – what have you over looked
- “The world is full of obvious things, which no one by any chance has observed. What you are you overlooking. Are there any patterns you are starting to see?
- No one was ready for the flu breakout.
- Everyone has a Story. Take time to learn the stories of the Veterans around you
- What they went through
- What are their life lessons?
- “My success is not because of who I am, but because of who I’ve come to know”
Al Andersen 