How To Honor War Heroes On Veterans Day In Chicago Heights

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Veterans Day, a federal holiday, is held yearly on Nov. 11. It honors all American veterans and military.

In Chicago Heights, City Hall, located at 1601 Chicago Road, will be closed in observance of the holiday. The Chicago Heights Vet Center, located on the second floor of 1010 Dixie Highway, will be opened from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The vet center offers the following services to veterans:

• Individual and group counseling for Veterans, service members, and their families
• Family counseling for military related issues
• Bereavement (grief) counseling
• Military sexual trauma counseling and referral
• Community outreach and education
• Substance abuse assessment and referral
• Employment referral
• Referral of other VA services

Veterans can also get a discounted haircut in honor of Veterans Day at Hair Cuttery Salons across Illinois. As a salute to military heroes, all Hair Cuttery locations will offer veterans a 10 percent discount to any service from a stylist between Nov. 8 through Nov. 15, with proof of military ID, according to a news release sent to Patch.

Find the nearest Hair Cuttery to you, here.

Originally called Armistice Day, the holiday was created at the end of World War I to recognize those who fought in “the war to end all wars,” according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Its 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.

It became Veterans Day in 1954, shortly after the end of the Korean War and less than a decade after World War II, after various veterans service organizations urged Congress to encompass veterans of all wars in their honor.

With some ceremonies, parades and presentations either canceled or altered in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, restaurants and other businesses will continue to show their appreciation for veterans and active military members.

Applebee’s, Bob Evans and Chili’s Grill and Bar are among the national restaurant chains offering free or discounted meals for veterans on Nov. 11, and 7-Eleven is offering a free cup of coffee or Big Gulp.

Other places, such as Golden Corral and Eat'n Park, have offers extended throughout November.

Veterans Day is somewhat related to, and sometimes mistaken for, Memorial Day, the federal holiday on the final Monday of May that is dedicated to those who have died while serving the United States in war.