Veterans Day

On November 11th, we celebrate Veterans Day. Canada and Australia celebrate Remembrance Day. Veterans Day, originally Armistice Day, began as a way to honor the living veterans of World War I. The date was chosen because the armistice that ended the actual fighting was November 11, 1918. World War I was called "the war to end all wars" or the "Great War." In 1938 it became a Federal holiday. Then came World War II and the Korean War creating more veterans and the name was changed from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. There is no apostrophe, it is not a day belonging to veterans, but a day to honor veterans. During World War II, when it became obvious that World War I was not the war to end all wars, there was a proposal to rename Armistice Day Mayflower Day. November 11, 1620 was the day the Mayflower Compact was signed; the idea found little support. For a while, the day was celebrated on the fourth Monday of October. This was unpopular; November 11th was the important day. Since 1978 the holiday has been celebrated on the 11th, unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday. If it does, the legal holiday becomes the previous Friday or the following Monday.

Red silk poppies, sold by the American Legion, are a tradition from the "Great War." A poem, "In Flanders Field," by a Canadian surgeon, who noticed that the red poppies were the first flowers to grow on the former battlefields. The Georgia American Legion was the first organization to sell red silk poppies to raise funds for veterans.

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In Fredericksburg, on Monday, November 11th, a procession to honor and remember all veterans, will walk from Mary Ball Street and Washington Avenue to the War Memorial, across Barton Street from the Heritage Center.

To learn more about local veterans, visit the Center, where there are many stories about our local heroes.