Veterans Day 2024

“Closed for national holiday” is a sign one might see on their favorite store on November, 11th. November 11th is Veterans Day. A day many people display the American flags, attend parades, support veteran-owned businesses, visit veterans, visit war memorials, and more.

A veteran is someone who is no longer serving in the military. A common misunderstanding is a military veteran can only be someone who has served time at war or retired from active service. In order to be a military veteran you have to have served 24 months active duty.

In November of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson named Nov. 11 Armistice Day. The day included parades and a pause in business at 11 am. Armistice Day was supposed to honor the ending of “the Great War” (World War 1) and the people that served in it. On June 4, 1926, Congress passed a resolution that the, “recurring anniversary of (November 11, 1918) should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.” On June 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation to have Nov. 11 be a day to honor all American veterans and not just World War 1 Veterans. This legislation changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day, both days have the same traditions and similar ideas but celebrate different people.

What could one do to honor a veteran? A big part of Veterans Day is community service and honoring veterans. If one does decide that they want to honor a veteran, they should make sure the person or people they're honoring are veterans and not currently serving, because Veterans Day is meant to celebrate people who are no longer serving. It’s still okay to thank current members of the military, though. Some things one could do to honor a veteran are to make a card for someone you know is a military veteran, simply say thank you for your service, go to a Veterans Day event, or visit a war memorial. Or, if you don’t live near one, look up pictures of war memorials and read about them.

What benefits do veterans receive and why? In consideration of the extra risks involved in being in the military, veterans get benefits for health care, education, and more. The benefits include little to no cost of dental care, insurance benefits for them and their family, financial support for graduate and undergraduate schools, free personal and group therapy, help paying for a home, and help to pay the costs of owning a small business.

To learn more about Veterans Day I interviewed military veteran Joe Scanlin about the number of years you have to serve to receive certain military benefits, appropriate ways to honor a veteran, and his opinion about Veterans Day.

I learned about how long you have to serve to receive certain military benefits, “If you serve 6 years you get healthcare and education benefits, if you serve 20 years or more, you get retirement benefits.”

I then asked him appropriate ways to honor a veteran, “Saying thank you for your service, or if you see an American Flag on the ground, pick it up and make sure it's flying in the correct direction.”

Finally, I asked him what he thinks about Veterans Day, “I think it's a good excuse to reach out to some people I served with, whom I haven’t seen in a while.”

In conclusion, Veterans Day is a good day to thank veterans in your community, learn more about the military and Veterans Day, and it is a day that has changed immensely how and why we celebrate it.