NATIONAL NEWS
November 11, 2009
America Honors Its Veterans
On Veterans Day, America pays tribute to past and present heroes
Each year Americans observe Veterans Day on November 11 to honor the brave men and women who have served in the military. Veterans Day is a holiday in which we remember members of the U.S. armed services who have served our country in the past.
 |  MUSADEQ SADEQ—AP U.S. Troops serving in Afghanistan celebrate Veterans Day with a barbeque on November 11, 2009. |
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month of 1918, the world celebrated a peace agreement, also called an armistice, that ended World War I. "Armistice Day" officially became a U.S. holiday in 1926 and a national holiday in the U.S. in 1938. It was originally known as Armistice Day, the day that marked the end to World War I. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in 1919. The name of the holiday was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 to include soldiers who died in all U.S. wars.
 MARIO TAMA—GETTY IMAGES World War II veterans Margie Zwick and Arnold Strauch watch New York City’s Veterans Day parade on November 11, 2009. | |
Today, many Americans honor veterans by attending parades and ceremonies and visiting the places where soldiers are buried. The most famous burial place for veterans is Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried there. Since then, the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" has become the most famous place for Americans to say thank you to its veterans.
