As many may still remember, Veteran’s Day was once dedicated to the memory of lives lost in The Great War. President Wilson’s proclamation in 1919 established the foundation for an American holiday:

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…

After WWII and the Korean War a Kansas man suggested to his US Representative, who then presented to President Eisenhower, that the holiday be renamed to honor the millions of Americans who had served in combat since WWI.

America’s Veteran’s Day was thus created by legislation in 1954.

The formal date of celebration was in contention for most of the 1970s but it has since reverted back nationally to the eleventh day of the eleventh month, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed (at the eleventh hour).

Craig has posted a guide and links to American Veterans’ Day events.

War Dogs Memorial: Past, Present and Future

American leaders thus celebrate Veteran’s Day today while English and French leaders attend traditional Armistice ceremonies. The exception seems to be the German leader who is celebrating the 90th anniversary of Poland’s independence:

…German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Warsaw to mark the anniversary of Poland’s independence – which also came on 11 November 1918, as the country broke free from the Austro-Hungarian empire and Germany.

Merkel is definitely a progressive-thinking and independent leader. While Germany and Poland seem to be working hard to settle their differences across borders, it is odd to read about bitter divisions from within — Solidarity founder Lech Walesa was left out of the celebration.