Veterans Day, 2010 God Bless Our Armed Services Personnel

Happy Veterans Day for those of you in the United States! It was on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 that the end of World War I was officially declared. At that time and for 36 more years, this date was known as Armistice Day, a day honoring World War I veterans. It wasn't until 1954 when President Eisenhower signed into law the bill that would make November 11 Veterans Day, that we honor all veterans in the United States on November 11.How did Armistice Day morph into Veterans Day?

The idea of Veterans Day came from an unlikely source - a shoe store owner in Emporia, Kansas. In 1953, shoe store owner Alfred King believed that November 11 should honor all veterans in the United States, not only those who served in World War I. Wikipedia picks up the story from there : "King had been actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II. He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11 to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954."

A lone voice in the Heartland of the United States was heard loud and clear in the Halls of Congress, and thanks to Alfred King, shoe store owner, we now celebrate the service to our country by roughly 25,000,000 veterans throughout the Fruited Plain each November 11.


God bless Alfred King, God bless our Veterans and God bless the United States of America.