Honor Veterans At Howell-Farmingdale Veterans Day Ceremonies

HOWELL, NJ — Veterans organizations are again joining forces to honor those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces on Veterans Day.

Howell Township Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9691 and Auxiliary and Farmingdale American Legion Post 178 will hold the ceremonies on Tuesday.

The ceremonies begin at 11 a.m. at Soldier Memorial Field, at 587 Lakewood-Farmingdale Road in Howell, followed by a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. at Lutz Park on Main Street in Farmingdale.

Veterans Day got its start as Armistice Day, marking the date a ceasefire — the armistice — between the Allied nations and Germany began in 1918 and is regarded as the end of World War I, though the official end came on June 28, 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed near the town of Versailles, France, according to the U.S. Veterans Affairs website.

Armistice Day was first commemorated on Nov. 11, 1919. President Woodrow Wilson marked the day by saying, "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations …"

A Congressional resolution officially marked the date in 1926, according to the VA website, calling on governments, churches and schools in the United States to mark the date with a commemoration, saying in part, "it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations."

It was made a federal holiday in 1938 as Armistice Day, but the name was changed to Veterans Day in 1954, in the wake of World War II and the Korean War.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first "Veterans Day Proclamation" in October 1954.