A parade in town with lots of music, and people in uniforms being honored. Does this sound familiar? If the answer is yes, that’s because it is. It is a day that kids are taught about from a young age called Veterans Day. 

Veterans Day has been celebrated for about 86 years, and it all started in the 1900s. In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed to signal the end of World War I. At the time Thomas Wilson, announced that November 11th would be Armistice Day. If you don’t know what that day is, it is what would later be known as Veterans Day.

As we go down the timeline, the next big thing happened in 1938. Armistice Day became a legal holiday. It became a legal holiday because even though President Wilson announced Armistice Day, that didn’t make it an official/recognized holiday that was known in America . Which is why an act was passed so that it could be recognized as a official holiday.                                                                                   

The point of this becoming an official holiday was so that citizens could recognize the veterans that fought in wars, and so that people can take a moment to appreciate the sacrifice and honor that Veterans made for their country.

On October 8th 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower named the Administration of Veterans Affair chairman of a committee so that plans for Veterans Day could be changed or kept the same. 

For the rest of the 1900’s the day of Veterans Day was constantly being changed from November to October and back, until a final decision was made to keep the day to what it was before-November 11th.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

It went back to November 11 because people thought that it didn’t make sense if it was October, and because the government wanted to make the people happy as well. 

Wow, that’s a lot of history to go through. But it’s important so that people even know    why we have Veterans Day in the first place. So now we can move away from the past and come back to Veterans Day in the present.

As some people know, not every Veteran is honored for fighting in the same war. Some veterans even fought in more than one war. It makes sense because Veterans are honored for the wars they fought in for their country. The veterans that fought in more than one war are honored for how many wars they fought in as well.

Interestingly enough, most of the Veterans served in the Gulf War-the pre-9/11 gulf war and the late gulf war. According to, statista, “Analysis and Statistics, shows, the largest number of veterans now stems from the gulf war era, including roughly 3 million who served in the pre-9/11 gulf war era,” So, if you have a relative who is a Veteran, you can ask them which war or wars they fought in. You can even ask them if they fought the same war, but at different eras. 

Do you have a relative who is a Veteran? If you do, chances are they are retired. Most Veterans in 2024, are getting close to their 90s. But, there are still some Veterans who fought in World War ll that are still alive today. 

Sadly though, the number of Veterans who fought in wars-that are living, are declining fast. According to statista, “There were almost 22 million veterans, including two million who served during WWII, in the country in 2010. By 2023, that number had fallen to just over 18 million.” 

But even though there are fewer veterans today than there were before there are still veterans in different states in the US. The  state with the most veterans is California, followed by Texas and Florida. This is because these states support veteran communities so a lot of veterans come to live in those states. According to Data Pandas, “The states with the largest number of veterans are California (1.5M), Texas (1.4M), and Florida (1.4M). These populous states support substantial veteran communities.”

With every holiday, there are always some sort of unique traditions that help add more to it. Although Veterans Day is not some big holiday, there are big events that happen within the day itself. 

From the day that it became a nation wide day to now there has always been one of many things that people do on Veterans Day-a parade. Which usually happens in New York. For this parade, the United States Marine Corps were honored at the parade-all the military are still celebrated though. The Marine Corps wore their uniforms as they were walking, with people thanking them for their service. 

The parade also features 20,000 marchers and 150 vehicles throughout the day. It has even become so big that it is recorded on live television so that people who aren’t physically there for the parade can still watch it.  According to amny, “feature 20,000 marchers and over 150 vehicles throughout the day.” Since the parades are a big part of Veterans Day, we can find out which states have the most parades. The state that has the most popular Veterans Day parade is New York-not surprised. 

The other states also have events that are popular to their state. For example, in Arlington, people take part in the National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery-in Virgina. What this means is that there is a wreath-laying ceremony, and a powerful parade to follow-the parade is not the most famous one, just a powerful one. 

Other than parade and wreath-laying ceremonies, speeches and concerts are also recorded for people who use sites like youtube or other sites online that allow you to hear what is being said.

Big events can be great, but there are even more meaningful events that you can do yourself to show that you care about Veterans. Have you ever given someone a card on their birthday? Cards may seem simple, but they are a meaningful way to show that you care. 

Listening to a Veteran’s story, or even donating to a nonprofit organization that helps veterans shows that you care just as much as the government doing a parade or someone making a speech that is broadcasted online.  

Veterans Day has become such an important event that the events that take place for the day get broadcasted on TV for people who don’t attend the events in person. For example, the parade in New York this year was recorded and you can watch it on youtube or a TV. 

Or you can even watch the speech that was also recorded, and the service that happened this year to pay respects for the veterans.

Students or teachers who have veterans in their family feel that Veterans Day is a chance for them to pay their respects for their family members who are Veterans. They can even have a long history of Veterans in their family.  According to Steven Pereira, “Veterans day is important to me because I have a long family history of service members. November 11th is a day to honor those who have earned this country’s freedom.” 

It can even extend to coaches who have veterans in their family. According to my friend Ellarie Healey “I celebrated my uncle and my coach posted about her husband who was in the military.”