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VETERANS DAY HONORING OUR VETERANS
BY KEN VYBIRAL , PA DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AND VETERANS
Veterans Day History The origins of Veterans Day begin when an armistice , or temporary cessation of hostilities , between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month . Even though “ The Great War ” officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28 , 1919 , November 11 , 1918 , is generally regarded as the end of “ the war to end all wars .”
In November 1919 , President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words : “ 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 …”
The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a . m .
Seven years later , in 1926 , Congress adopted a resolution requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue annual proclamations on November 11 , making Armistice Day a legal holiday .
In 1945 , World War II veteran Raymond Weeks had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans rather than just the ones who died in World War I . He led a delegation to
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