Village of Alsip, VFW Post 450 Plan Veterans Day Ceremony

ALSIP, IL — VFW Post 450 will lead the Village of Alsip’s Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 11. Join Mayor John Ryan, Alsip’s first responders and members of VFW Post 450 at 11 a.m. at Veterans Plaza, 11801 S. Pulaski Road. All are invited. Come out and thank a veteran.

The 11th day of the 11th month, marked the end of fighting in World War I at the 11th hour. The day became known as “Armistice Day,” and officially received its name in America in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It didn’t become a national holiday until 12 years later by similar Congressional action. The idealistic hope was that World War I, or the Great War, as it was originally called, would become the war to end all wars.

The first celebration using the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham, AL, in 1947. Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran, organized “National Veterans Day,” which included a parade and other festivities, to honor all veterans. The event was held on November 11, then designated Armistice Day. Later, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill that would change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. In 1954, Congress passed the bill that President Eisenhower signed, proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.