By Kevin Devlin

     At 11 a.m. on November 11, 2005, a combined color guard representing all the branches of our military, will execute a "Present Arms" at the Tomb of the Unknowns" at the Arlington National Cemetery. A presidential wreath will then be placed at the Tomb and taps will be played to honor those who served and for those who died for their country.

     Veteran's Day honors all of the living, as well as the dead, who served their country in war time and during peace.

     And so, how did this national holiday begin?

In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed signifying the end of hostilities in the "the war to end all wars." People dance and laughed in the streets, blew horns and rang bells. They thought there would never be another war.

     World War I or the Great War as it was known by many had ended. Thirty-five countries were involved in this war from 1914 to 1918, and America fought oversees from 1917 to 1918.

     To pay homage to those who served their country, President Woodrow Wilson designated November 11, 1919, as a holiday and named it "Armistice Day." In 1921, the body of an unknown soldier, his name "known but to God" was brought from a cemetery in France to the states and buried in the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" in the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

     In 1926, Congress adopted "a resolution directing the president to issue an annual proclamation calling on the observance of Armistice Day." Then on May 13, 1938,
Congress passed legislation making November 11 a legal Federal holiday.

     World War I was not to be the war to end all wars, but only the beginning of more bloodshed and wars in the modern era. World War II which ended in the deaths of 55 million soldiers and civilians, along with the Korean War in the early fifties, buried the notion of celebrating Armistice Day. In 1954, President Eisenhower signed a bill which changed the name of this holiday to Veteran's Day, a day in which to honor all servicemen and women who served in all of America's wars. This would later include the Vietnam War and the wars in the Middle East.

     In 1968, the country passed the Monday Holiday Law which established the fourth Monday in October as the new date for the observance of Veteran's Day. But many in the nation felt that this was unpatriotic and wanted to keep the holiday on the date originally intended. As a result, in 1975, new legislation was enacted which went into effect in 1978, making the holiday fall on the exact date.
This Friday, November 11, take time to reflect and give thanks to those living and to those now dead, who served their country in war and in peace, so that we could live in a free and democratic nation.
At 11 a.m., continue the tradition observed by millions of Americans throughout the decades. Remain silent for two minutes and prayer for those, living and dead, who served their country and protected our way of life.

      It is a time to honor and say thank you to those veterans who served their country.
They undoubtedly deserve our respect, our admiration, and our gratitude for all time.