11/10/2019
On Veterans Day and every day we are grateful for all of our brave service men and women and all our veterans and their sacrifice and commitment that allow us to enjoy the freedoms that we all share here at home.
All of us at Bridges For Heroes salute and Thank all of the brave men and women who have so selflessly served so that we all may enjoy the many blessing of this great country.
God Bless Our Troops
God Bless Our Veterans
God Bless America
What we celebrate on Veterans Day and why we say “Thank You”
Veterans Day Facts
Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. World War I officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. However, the fighting ended about seven months before that when the Allies and Germany put into effect an armistice on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, was largely considered the end of “the war to end all wars” and dubbed Armistice Day.
Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans—living or dead—but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.
When Is Veterans Day?
• Veterans Day occurs on November 11 every year in the United States.
• In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
• In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed by Congress, which moved the celebration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. The law went into effect in 1971, but in 1975 President Gerald Ford returned Veterans Day to November 11, due to the important historical significance of the date.
• Great Britain, France, Australia and Canada also commemorate the veterans of World War I and World War II on or near November 11th: Canada has Remembrance Day, while Britain has Remembrance Sunday (the second Sunday of November).
• In Europe, Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries it is common to observe two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. every November 11.
Veterans Today
The military men and women who serve and protect the U.S. come from all walks of life; they are parents, children, grandparents, friends, neighbors and coworkers, and are an important part of their communities. Here are some facts about the veteran population of the United States:
• 16.1 million living veterans served during at least one war.
• 2 million veterans are women.
• Of the 16 million Americans who served during World War II, about 558,000 are still alive.
• As of 2014, 2.9 million veterans received compensation for service-connected disabilities.
• As of 2014, 3 states have more than 1 million veterans among their population: California (1.8 million), Florida (1.6 million) and Texas (1.7 million).
• The VA health care system had 54 hospitals in 1930, since then it has expanded to include 171 medical centers; more than 350 outpatient, community, and outreach clinics; 126 nursing home care units; and 35 live-in care facilities for injured or disabled vets.
