Veterans Day In Bel Air: How To Honor Military Personnel

BEL AIR, MD — The post office and most banks will be closed in Bel Air on Thursday in observance of Veterans Day, a federal holiday that honors veterans of the U.S. armed forces.

All town of Bel Air offices will be closed Thursday for Veterans Day.

Recycling in the town of Bel Air will be collected Friday, Nov. 12.

Yard waste and loose leaf collection in town is canceled on Thursday. Call the Bel Air Department of Public Works with questions at 410-638-4536.

American Legion Post 39 in Bel Air is sponsoring a 9 a.m. breakfast followed by a Veterans Day ceremony at Bel Air Memorial Gardens.

Aberdeen is hosting a Veterans Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 11. It will include a wreath-laying ceremony at Veterans Park at the corner of Parke and Rogers streets.

Havre de Grace is holding a Veterans Day Parade at 1 p.m. Thursday starting on Congress Avenue and ending at the American Legion Post 47.

The Bel Air Armory will be the site of a Veterans Resource Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13.

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.

It became Veterans Day in 1954, shortly following 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.

Many restaurants and other businesses will 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, 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.