Veterans Day is a special holiday celebrated on November 11th each year, and here at Mister Kleen, we would like to say thank you to all military veterans for their service.

Instead of sending out a simple thank you email, we thought it would be better to share some interesting facts about Veterans Day.

• Veterans Day was once known as Armistice Day. Armistice Day is commemorated every year on November 11th to mark the armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I. Armistice took effect on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

• On November 11th, 1921, an American soldier whose identity was unknown was buried at Arlington Cemetary. His gravesite is called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. On November 11th a ceremony is held at 11 am in which a combined color guard representing all military services executes “Present Arms” at the tomb, and a wreath is laid on the grave by the president or a high-ranking member of the government.

• Congress passed a resolution for an annual observance of Armistice Day in 1926. November 11th became a national holiday in 1938.

• The first celebration using the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947. Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran, organized “National Veterans Day,” which included a parade and other festivities on November 11th, to honor all veterans.

• Raymond Weeks led the annual Veterans Day celebration from 1947 until 1985 when he died. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan awarded Weeks with a Presidential Citizenship Medal.

• President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation changing the name to Veterans Day to honor veterans of all American wars in 1954.

• The Uniform Holidays Bill was passed by Congress, which moved Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October in 1968. While this law went into effect in 1971, President Ford reverted the date back to November 11th in 1975 due to the important historical significance the date held. The annual observance of Veterans Day was officially returned back to its original date of November 11 in 1978.

• An apostrophe should not be used before the “s” when spelling Veterans Day. If you see someone using an apostrophe – Veteran’s Day – feel free to call them out on it. The singular word, veteran, should not be made possessive when celebrating as this is a special day for honoring all veterans, not a celebration of a single veteran.

We hope you found these Veterans Day facts informative. Thank you for all you’ve done and for what you continue to do!  We are all safer because of your actions.

Mister Kleen is a leading provider of contract cleaning services to Commercial and High Security facilities since 1976. Our primary service area is the DC Metro region. We also provide a variety of interior and exterior specialty services.