With Veterans Day right around the corner, city officials across the country are putting the final touches on celebrations to honor American service members. Of course, this happens every year during the days leading up to November 11. Literally thousands of events take place on this hallowed holiday, whose roots can be traced back to World War I. In 1918 on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Germany and Austria-Hungary agreed to a cease-fire with the Allied nations of the United States, Great Britain, France and Russia, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. This marked the unofficial end of the Great War, which would formally conclude with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles eight months later.
Soon after, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 Armistice Day in honor of the historic truce. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the occasion Veterans Day in an effort to make it applicable to service members who participated in other armed conflicts outside of World War I. Fourteen years later, Congress moved the holiday to the fourth Monday in October. However, this change left many Americans unhappy. After more than a decade of complaints, President Gerald R. Ford in 1975 signed into law new legislation that declared November 11 Veterans Day once again.
Every year on this day, citizens flood the streets to express gratitude and support for veterans, and demonstrate their passion for the country they call home. This November 11 will be no different, as most cities have planned exciting festivities to celebrate their local service members.
New York
Since the 1970s, New York City has hosted America's Parade, the single largest Veterans Day celebration in the country. Though the event got off to a shaky start and struggled to gain traction throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it has become a staple in recent years, Business Insider reported. Now, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers line the streets to look on as veterans and allies march along the parade route, which winds through Midtown Manhattan.
This year, America's Parade will once again take place. Retired Army Colonel Stephanie Dawson, who now serves as the chief operating officer of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will helm the procession, along with local Iraq War veterans Joseph Duggan Jr. and Nelson Vergara, both of whom were also first responders during the 9/11 attacks.
Los Angeles
For the first time ever, the city of Los Angeles will host its own version of America's Parade, according to the American Legion. Officials from the Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs collaborated with United War Veterans Council, the organization behind the original celebration in New York, and the American Legion to put on this event.
"This parade will honor veterans from all wars and all eras, creating a sea to shining sea of Veterans Day parades throughout our great country," Stephanie Stone, chief deputy of the Los Angeles County VA, explained.
Paraders will depart from West Los Angeles VA Medical Center and continue on a one-mile route through the campus.
Seattle
Veterans in Auburn, Washington, a southern suburb of Seattle, are expected to participate in the annual Veterans Day Parade and Observance, the Seattle Times reported. Despite its modest trappings, this mile-long parade is actually one of the largest Veterans Day celebrations in the country, regularly drawing crowds numbering in the thousands. This year, the event will include more than 200 units and end with a veterans fair and showcase.