The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WHY WE HAVE 2 HOLIDAYS TO HONOR MILITARY SERVICE
If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, apparently you’re not alone. No less an authority than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says people frequently confuse the two holidays. Make no mistake about it
MEMORIAL DAY
When it is: The last Monday in May. Its original name: Decora
tion Day. Initially, it honored only those soldiers who’d died during the Civil War. In 1868, a veteran of the Union Army, Gen. John A. Logan, decided to formalize a growing tradition of towns decorating veterans’ graves with flowers by organizing a nationwide day of remembrance on May 30. During World War I, the holiday’s focus expanded to honoring those lost during all U.S. wars.
When it became official: In 1968, Congress officially established Memorial Day (as it had gradually come to be known) as a federal holiday. Its unofficial designation:
Memorial Day is still a solemn day of remembrance everywhere from Arlington National Cemetery to metro Atlanta, where a number of ceremonies and events will take place today. On a lighter note, though, many people view the arrival of the three-day week
end each year as the start of summer (In fact, this year, the summer solstice arrives at 6:07 a.m. on June 21).
One more thing to know: In 2000, Congress established the National Moment of Remembrance. It asks all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day each year to remember the dead.
VETERANS DAY
When it is: Nov. 11 every year. This year, Veterans Day falls on a Sunday (as a result, it will be officially observed as a federal holiday this year on Monday, Nov. 12).
Its original name: Armistice Day. The “armistice” or agreement signed between the allies
and Germany that ended World War I called for the cessation of all hostilities to take effect at 11 a.m. on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year in 1918. One year later, on Nov. 11, 1919, the first Armistice Day was celebrated in the U.S. When it became official:
In 1938, a congressional act established Armistice Day an annual legal holiday. In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks first proposed the idea of expanding the holiday to one honoring veterans of all U.S. wars. In 1954, the holiday legally became known as Veterans Day (In 1982, President Ronald Reagan presented Alabama resident Weeks with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in recognition of his efforts in creating Veterans Day). Its temporary relocation:
In 1968, the same congressional act that established Memo- rial Day moved Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October every year. That law took effect in 1971; just four years later, in 1975, President Gerald Ford — citing the original date’s “historic and patriotic significance” — signed a bill that restored Nov. 11 as Veterans Day every year. One more thing to know:
Despite much confusion over the spelling, it’s Veterans Day, plural, and without any apostrophe. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which explains on its website: “Veterans Day does not include an apostrophe but does include an “s” at the end of ‘veterans’ because it is not a day that ‘belongs’ to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans.”