President Trump lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day. (Nov. 11, 2020)
November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States. It is a day when the American people honor every service member who has served in the U.S. military. Ahead of Wednesday’s Veterans Day, the Trump administration announced free lifetime access to U.S. national parks for all veterans and Gold Star families. Gold Star Families refers to the immediate family members of fallen U.S. service members.
Interior Secretary David L. Bernhardt said, “The Trump administration is committed to honoring every patriotic son and daughter who has served in the U.S. military.”
Last week, President Trump declared November “National Veterans and Military Families Month.”
Veterans Day in the United States began on Nov. 11, 1918, the day Germany surrendered in World War I and also marked the end of World War I. Veterans Day is a day to remember the heroes and heroines of the American people who served.
This day is dedicated to the memory of every veteran who served in the U.S. military. In past years, many ceremonies, military band performances and parades would be held across the country on this day. However, this year, due to the effects of the New Crown epidemic, many city events have been cancelled, reduced in size, or turned into online events.
Fewer events
President Trump and First Lady Melania are scheduled to attend a National Veterans Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday. The event, which will not be open to the public but will be broadcast live from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, honors U.S. service members who were killed in combat but have not yet been identified.
Online commemorations will also be held at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the New Jersey Vietnam War Memorial.
Officials in Fort Worth, Texas, will hold a modified version of the parade, known as the Memorial Car Tour, with only vehicles in the procession. In New York, Veterans Day celebrations, on the other hand, will include a series of live events that maintain a social distance, as well as online virtual events.
After the election
Preliminary exit polls from election stations show Trump’s approval rating among military communities at 52 percent, up from Biden’s 44 percent. However, the president’s support in the 2020 election is smaller than it was in 2016 (59 percent to 35 percent).
About half of military personnel say they themselves do not have a strong preference for any of the major parties, according to a poll released by Military Times in October 2018, a continuing trend that polls have found in recent years.
The poll also found that more than three-quarters of servicemembers believe the military has become increasingly politically polarized in recent years.
It started in the First World War
Traditionally, Veterans Day is a day when Americans, regardless of political party, come together to support and honor all veterans who have served our country.
The day became a national day of remembrance in 1926. At the time, it was called “Armistice Day” to commemorate Germany’s surrender at the end of World War I at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
Congress renamed it Veterans Day in 1954 to commemorate and honor veterans of both world wars.
The honor now belongs not just to those who fought in the wars, but commemorates all U.S. veterans. It is separate from the Memorial Day holiday in May, which honors those who have died in military service.
According to U.S. Census data, there are approximately 17.4 million veterans in the United States. In 2019, roughly half of all veterans will be 65 years of age or older.
According to the data, the states with the highest percentage of veterans as a percentage of the population (more than 10 percent) are Virginia, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that from the American War of Independence in 1775 to Desert Storm in 1991, nearly 42 million Americans fought in combat. And 3.3 million more veterans have served since the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
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