On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or a temporary halting of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I, then known as "the Great War."
The following year, November, 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of "Armistice Day" with the following words:
"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…"
"Armistice Day" became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938.
Later, in 1954, in the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, "Armistice Day" became "Veterans Day", a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars.
