I'm an American soldier
An American
I will proudly take a stand
When liberty's in jeopardy
I will always do what's right
I'm out here on the front lines
Sleep in peace tonight
American soldier
I'm an American soldier
Yeah, an American soldier
An American
Beside my brothers and my sisters
I will proudly take a stand
~American Soldier
Toby Keith
On November 1, 1980, WKRP in Cincinnati aired an episode titled, "The Airplane Show." In this episode, the station's news reporter, Les Nessman, wants a traffic helicopter, but settles for a 1934 Waco UMF biplane flown by Buddy, a veteran turned crop duster. Although Les is told that he is not to go up in the plane, he defies the orders of Mr. Carlson, the station manager, to go up in the plane on Veteran's Day. Seeing that people aren't observing Veteran's Day in any meaningful way, Buddy tells Les that he's going to keep flying until either they run out of gas or until there is a parade in honor of Veterans. The other WKRP employees organize a simultaneous show of respect by getting everyone in Cincinnati to honk their horns at a specific time. This appeases the pilot, he lands safely, and Les's life is saved.
Throughout the show, there is an underlying question of whether it is "Veterans Day" or "Armistice Day."
Armistice Day and Veterans Day
World War I was known at the time as “The Great War” (it makes sense--they didn't know there would be another world war just three decades later). It was also thought to be the "war to end all wars." The Great War officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. The armistice, a temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect about on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
Armistice Day was established to commemorate the end of the fighting in World War I. Thus, President Woodrow Wilson declared Armistice Day for November 11, 1919:
To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.
- On November 11, 1921, the first unidentified American solder in war was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
- On November 11, 1938, Armistice Day became a legal federal holiday.
Of course, it was not "the war to end all wars," and it was followed by World War II and the Korean War. To honor all members of the armed services, whether they served in war or peace time, Armistice Day became Veterans Day. In 1954, Congress amended the 1938 declaration that made Armistice Day a holiday, changing it to Veterans Day, with President Dwight D. Eisenhower signing it into law on June 1, 1954.
Fourth Monday in October
In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Holiday Bill, trying to encourage tourism from federal employees by giving them three-day weekends. The holidays that were shifted to Mondays were Washington's Birthday (third Monday in February), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), Columbus Day (second Monday in October) and Veteran's Day (fourth Monday in October).
The first Veterans Day to fall under the new law was observed on Monday, October 25, 1971. That was my eighth birthday, and I remember that it was a school holiday. The other time Veterans Day was on my birthday was in 1976. I think we might have had a school holiday that year, too. Many states did not approve of the change, and there was a lot of confusion, since most states continued to observe Veterans Day on the regular date of November 11.
In 1975, President Ford signed a new law returning the official observation of Veterans Day back to November 11, starting in 1978. Honoring veterans on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month was historically and patriotically significant to Americans. If Veterans Day or November 11 falls on Saturday or Sunday, the Veterans Day will be observed on the previous Friday or following Monday.
Veterans Day 2020
There aren't as many parades this year, or if there are, they will be parades of cars. We're socially distancing, but Veteran's Day is being observed. Both the President and the President-Elect participated in ceremonies honoring veterans. With so many students engaging in remote learning, a day off of school may not mean as much, and banks and government offices were closed.
