President Eisenhower signs HR7786, officially changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
Veterans Day is the American name for the international day called Armistice Day. It falls on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. It is both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states. The same day is observed elsewhere as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day. All major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. Armistice Day was first commemorated in the United States by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, and many states made it a legal holiday. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 inviting all Americans to observe the day and made it a legal holiday nationwide in 1938.
The holiday has been observed annually on November 11 since that date - first as Armistice Day, later as Veterans Day. When holidays in the United States, with the exception of New Year's Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Independence Day were moved to Mondays to create long holiday weekends, the celebration was moved to the fourth Monday of October. However, after protests by veterans groups it was moved back to November 11th in an effort to make the holiday more important. Unfortunately for those groups, the result was the opposite. Even though it is a federal and state holiday, it is formally observed in most parts of the United States only by government offices and banks. Most schools and almost all businesses stay open on regular schedules. As a result, most public transit systems are on regular schedules. Most businesses cite the holiday's proximity to Thanksgiving (when many businesses close for a four-day weekend) as the main reason for staying open on Veterans Day; but most schools and businesses also stay open on Columbus Day, a full month earlier.
On November 11, 1953, the citizens of Emporia, Kansas staged a Veterans Day observance in lieu of an Armistice Day remembrance. Congressman Ed Rees of Emporia, Kansas subsequently introduced legislation in the United States House of Representatives to officially change the name of Armistice Day to Veterans Day [1]. Following a letter-writing campaign to secure the support of all state governors in the observance of this new holiday, the name of the holiday was changed to Veterans Day (enacted June 1, 1954), to honor those who served.
The day has since evolved as a time for honoring living veterans who
have served in the military during wartime or peacetime, partially to
complement Memorial Day,
which primarily honors the dead. There has been some discussion of
whether a person's veteran status depends upon his/her retirement or
discharge from any of the armed forces. However, the term applies to
any that have honorably served their country or that have served in a
war zone as directed by their superior officers or as directed by
lawful orders given by their country.
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
Through the generations, America’s men and women in uniform have defeated tyrants, liberated continents, and set a standard of courage and idealism for the entire world. On Veterans Day, our Nation pays tribute to those who have proudly served in our Armed Forces.
To protect the Nation they love, our veterans stepped forward when America needed them most. In conflicts around the world, their sacrifice and resolve helped destroy the enemies of freedom and saved millions from oppression. In answering history’s call with honor, decency, and resolve, our veterans have shown the power of liberty and earned the respect and admiration of a grateful Nation.
All of America’s veterans have placed our Nation’s security before their own lives, creating a debt that we can never fully repay. Our veterans represent the best of America, and they deserve the best America can give them.
As we recall the service of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen, we are reminded that the defense of freedom comes with great loss and sacrifice. This Veterans Day, we give thanks to those who have served freedom’s cause; we salute the members of our Armed Forces who are confronting our adversaries abroad; and we honor the men and women who left America’s shores but did not live to be thanked as veterans. They will always be remembered by our country.
With respect for and in recognition of the contributions our service men and women have made to the cause of peace and freedom around the world, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103(a)) that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor veterans.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2006, as Veterans Day and urge all Americans to observe November 5 through November 11, 2006, as National Veterans Awareness Week. I encourage all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through ceremonies and prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and to support and participate in patriotic activities in their communities. I invite civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, businesses, unions, and the media to support this national observance with commemorative expressions and programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.
GEORGE W. BUSH
WREATH LAYING - U.S. Army Capt. Eric Stainbrook and Sgt. Ryan Hackett represent servicemembers wounded in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 3, 2006.
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brian K. Parker
Marine Posthumously Awarded the Medal of Honor for Heroism in Iraq
Cpl. Jason L. Dunham
QUANTICO, Va., Nov. 10, 2006 – A Marine corporal who died shielding men in his care from a bursting grenade will receive America’s highest military decoration, President Bush said here today.
Actions by Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, who would have turned 25 today, merit
the Medal of Honor, Bush said at the National Museum of the Marine
Corps dedication ceremony, which coincided with the 231st Marine Corps
anniversary.
On April 14, 2004, in Iraq near the Syrian border, the corporal used
his helmet and his body to smother an exploding Mills bomb let loose by
a raging insurgent whom Dunham and two other Marines had tried to
subdue.
The explosion dazed and wounded Lance Cpl. William Hampton and Pfc.
Kelly Miller. The insurgent stood up after the blast and was
immediately killed by Marine small-arms fire.
Dunham lay face down with a shard the size of a dress-shirt button
lodged in his head. The hard, molded mesh that was his Kevlar helmet
was now scattered yards around into clods and shredded fabric. Dunham
never regained consciousness and died eight days later at the National
Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., with his mother and father at
his bedside.
Dunham’s commanding officers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines,
investigated his actions and nominated him for the Medal of Honor.
After two years and seven months making its way to the White House, the
nomination now has the necessary approval from the president. Next, the
president will present the medal and citation to the corporal’s
parents, Dan and Debra Dunham, who drove to Quantico from their home in
Scio, N.Y. Dunham is buried in Scio.
“Corporal Dunham's mom and dad are with us today on what would have
been this brave young man's 25th birthday,” Bush said. “We remember
that the Marine who so freely gave his life was your beloved son. We
ask a loving God to comfort you for a loss that can never be replaced.
And on this special birthday, in the company of his fellow Marines, I'm
proud to announce that our nation will recognize Corporal Jason
Dunham's action with America's highest decoration for valor, the Medal
of Honor.
“As long as we have Marines like Corporal Dunham,” the president
continued. “America will never fear for her liberty. And as long as we
have this fine museum, America will never forget their sacrifice.”
Before Dunham, the last Marine actions to earn the medal happened May
8, 1970, in Vietnam, according to Marine Corps History Division
records. A Medal of Honor citation details Lance Cpl. Miguel Keith’s
machine-gun charge that inspired a platoon facing nearly overwhelming
odds: Wounded, Keith ran into “fire-swept terrain.” Wounded again by a
grenade, he still attacked, taking out enemies in the forward rush.
Keith fought until mortally wounded; his platoon came out on top
despite being heavily outnumbered.
The last Marine to receive the Medal of Honor was Maj. Gen. James L.
Day, who distinguished himself as a corporal in the Battle of Okinawa
in 1945. On Jan. 20, 1998, more than half a century later, President
Bill Clinton presented the medal to Day. He passed away that year.
Dunham’s Medal of Honor will be the second awarded for service in
Operation Iraqi Freedom. On April 4, 2003, Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R.
Smith posthumously earned the medal for organizing a defense that held
off a company-sized attack on more than 100 vulnerable coalition
soldiers. In the defense, Smith manned a .50-caliber machine gun in an
exposed position until he was mortally wounded.
Comments