Veterans Day In Birmingham: How To Honor Military Personnel

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Birmingham has the distinction of hosting the oldest Veterans Day parade in the country, and this year the city continues that tradition Nov. 11.

Veterans Day, commemorated annually on Nov. 11, was first celebrated in 1919 to honor those who fought in World War I. It was initially called Armistice Day and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

The holiday’s origin is tied to the armistice, a temporary end of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany signed in France on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

A World War II veteran from Birmingham named Raymond Weeks had an idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans. In 1947 he led a delegation to Washington, D.C. to urge then-Army Chief of Staff General Dwight Eisenhower to create a national holiday that honored all veterans.

In 1954, President Eisenhower signed legislation establishing November 11th as Veterans Day.
President Reagan honored Weeks as the driving force for the national holiday with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 at the White House.

Weeks led the first National Veterans Day Parade in 1947 in Alabama, and he continued the tradition until his passing in 1985.

This year, the parade will be back on the north side of downtown, following the original parade route, as in years prior to the interstate construction. The parade begins at 1:30 p.m., rain or shine.

The parade route is as follows:

• Start on 18th St. and 9th Ave N.
• South on 18th St. to 2nd Ave N.
• East on 2nd Ave N. to 22nd St.
• North on 22nd St. to 5th Ave N.
• West on 5th Ave N. to 19th St.
• North on 19th St. in front of City Hall
• End at 19th St. and 10th Ave N.