Thanking America’s Veterans

Today is Veterans Day. Americans first observed it on November 11, 1919, one year to the day after the end of the conflict they knew as the Great War and we (regrettably) know as World War I. President Woodrow Wilson issued a message proclaiming the first celebration of “Armistice Day.” The holiday was meant to show “gratitude for victory” in World War I and solemn pride “for those who died in the country’s service.” On that day, all business was suspended for two minutes starting at 11:00 a.m. and parades and public gatherings commemorated the war’s end. The choice of time was deliberate. The agreement ending World War I went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

Over the years, the practice of celebrating Armistice Day spread, and states began making it a legal holiday. Congress followed suit in 1938, declaring that the November 11 holiday was “dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’” In 1954, with World War II and the Korean War having greatly expanded the number of Americans who had fought overseas, Congress renamed Armistice Day as “Veterans Day.” In a proclamation announcing the renamed holiday, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said the change was intended to “expand the significance of the commemoration” by “paying homage to the veterans of all its wars.”

You might be wondering why the holiday is spelled “Veterans Day” and not “Veteran’s Day.” The choice is deliberate. The Department of Veterans Affairs states that the apostrophe is unnecessary “because it is not a day that ‘belongs’ to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans.”

You might also wonder how Veterans Day differs from Memorial Day other than coming in the fall rather than at the end of spring. Veterans Day honors everyone who has served in the U.S. armed forces. Memorial Day pays tribute to those men and women who died in military service.

Roughly 16 million Americans today are veterans. That number is down from 28 million in 1990. The decrease reflects the passing of the World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam generations, and the shift to an all-volunteer military. Just 45,400 of the 16.1 million Americans who served in World War II are still alive today. Nearly 7 million men and women served during the Korean War. Fewer than 600,000 of those veterans are alive today. Roughly 2.7 million Americans served in Vietnam between 1964 and 1975, of whom roughly 600,000 are still alive.

If you are wondering how many veterans sit in Congress today, the number is ninety-seven. That’s down three from when the 119^th Congress was sworn in back on January 3. Senator JD Vance of Ohio resigned his seat to become vice president, Representative Mike Waltz of Florida resigned his seat to become national security advisor, and Representative Mark Green resigned his seat to pursue a private sector opportunity. If Matt Van Epps wins the December 2 race to fill the remainder of Green’s term, the number would rise to ninety-eight. Even though the 119^th Congress has seen some attrition, the number of veterans is still higher than in the 117^th Congress, which was seated in 2021. It set the post-World War II record with just 91 members who were veterans. The 95^th Congress, which was seated in January 1977, holds the modern record for the highest number of veterans. The Pew Research Center reports that 77 percent of senators and representatives of that Congress had served in the U.S. military.

The price of service in the U.S. military can be high. More than 1.1 million service members have died in combat. The Civil War remains the deadliest of America’s wars, with an estimated death toll of 625,000. World War II is the second deadliest conflict, with 405,400 Americans killed. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq left 7,088 servicemen and women dead. Some 6.9 million veterans today have a service-connected disability.

To all of America’s veterans, thank you for your service.

Oscar Berry assisted in the preparation of this post.